DOOM Eternal Won't Have Traditional Deathmatch Multiplayer

2016's DOOM was lauded for its single-player campaign, which featured addicting breakneck combat that was almost hypnotic levels of good. But this didn't translate to the game's deathmatch multiplayer, which was bland, not well-realized, and very quickly boring. This part of the game got hammered by the public and reviews. And thus it should come as no surprise that it isn't returning for 2019's DOOM Eternal, the sequel to the aforementioned 2016 reboot.

"It didn't have any of the components of DOOM that people loved from the campaign," said executive producer Marty Stratton about why the first game's multiplayer didn't stick the landing. "It didn't have the slayer or demons in a meaningful way. It just kind of fell flat."

In its place, DOOM Eternal will have a new asymmetric multiplayer mode called Battle Mode, which pits two players controlling demons against one player controlling the DOOM Slayer.

"The cool thing about it is it's ripped straight from DOOM; it's the combat players want and love. You're familiar with the gameplay, playing as a slayer," added Stratton speaking about Battle Mode.

Of course, given that DOOM more or less fathered deathmatch style multiplayer, it's a bit disappointing to hear it's leaving it behind, but clearly id Software doesn't have any great ideas for it, or at least not an ideas that excite it as much as Battle Mode.

DOOM Eternal is poised to release on November 22, 2019. For more news and media on the game, be sure to peep all of our previous coverage of the title by clicking right here. Meanwhile, for more on the game itself, here's an official overview:

As the DOOM Slayer, you return to find Earth has suffered a demonic invasion. Raze Hell and discover the Slayer's origins and his enduring mission to rip and tear…until it is done.

• Slayer Threat Level at Maximum: Armed with a shoulder-mounted flamethrower, retractable wrist-mounted blade, upgraded guns and mods, and abilities like the Double Dash, you're faster, stronger, and more versatile than ever.
• Unholy Trinity: Take what you need from your enemies: Glory kill for extra health, incinerate for armor, and chainsaw demons to stock up on ammo to become the ultimate demon-slayer.
• Battle Mode: A new 2 versus 1 multiplayer experience built from the ground up at id Software. A fully-armed DOOM Slayer faces off against two player-controlled demons, duking it out over three rounds of intense first-person combat.

Thanks, IGN.