id Software Talk Layoffs, Studio’s Future, Announce New Free Mode for DLC

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(We will soon update the article as soon as official images and videos will be provided to us. In the meantime, we are using older screenshots from DOOM: The Dark Ages. Stay tuned!)

In an exclusive digital presentation, id Software gave us a great reminder of where the latest DOOM stands after the ridiculously ambitious, this year’s almost sequel-like Revelations DLC for 2025’s DOOM: The Dark Ages.

This is also the avenue they chose to announce a free new horde mode for said downloadable content, named Slaughter Mode, packing infinitely replayable randomized battles where a single wrong move can undo our entire progress, and they let us chat with some of the studio leads about the game, the infamous layoffs, the future of the studio and more. Let’s get to it, shall we?

The DLC that keeps on giving

Marty Stratton, Executive Producer, Hugo Martin the Game Director and Beau Jensen, Senior PR Manager, ran us through a “for your consideration” presentation of the Revelations DLC for DOOM: The Dark Ages, as it feels like the really busy year of gaming we had buried what is easily one of the most ambitious and impressive pieces of DOOM content ever released. And I get it – I feel like all the negativity surrounding the pricing, the Xbox acquisition and the (wrong) perception of a prequel story presumably being a lesser game did hurt this one a lot – both the base game and the DLC.

So, where does DOOM go from here? The answer is ‘Slaughter Mode‘, a brand new horde mode free to all Revelations DLC owners. It’s a whole new post-game experience, meant to be an even tougher, replayable challenge for people who can’t just get enough of the excellent combat loop of the game, further enhanced by the spear and the other mechanics introduced in the DLC. The player starts with a fully unlocked and powered up Doomslayer, and can play through any of 19 incredibly spectacular arenas against randomized enemies and modifiers of increasing difficulty. But wait, there’s more…

Risk versus reward

We watched a pretty badass in-engine trailer with the Doomslayer acrobatically beating the living Hell (heh) out of countless demons with increasingly wild ways – from his DLC spear and shield to an improvised minigun detached from a turret and various bits and pieces of footage. Needless to say, if you want a high level replayable experience in DOOM: The Dark Ages, this is it – it looks absolutely mental, and while we can not share what we saw exactly, we will update the article with footage and screenshots as soon as they become available to us.

An interesting aspect of this round-based mode is that not only the difficulty keeps ramping up, but the player gets to gamble on the payout. Every once in a while, a checkpoint will be reached, where players can choose to cash out on their current rewards – which range from weapon skins, unlockable songs by IDKFA, and other cosmetic elements. At that point you can either push forward and risk losing it all when death occurs, or get even loftier rewards for your effort. What’s it gonna be, then? Risk it all or play it safe?

id Software lives on

Marty Stratton and Hugo Martin also took pride of the fact that id Software built this entirely new and ambitious mode fully in-house. The trailer we saw was in-engine and made by them, not a single line of code or art was outsourced for this update – this is all them, and it serves as quite the statement. No matter what you may have heard about the studio, id Software are here to stay. Indeed, we were allowed to ask the team some questions, and one question that popped up was about the mass layoffs that impacted various Microsoft-owned studios, including about half of id Software losing their jobs in one swift move.

Marty didn’t want to downplay the effects of the layoffs at all, pointing out that it was a difficult moment to work through, but that they’ve found a way to adjust to this new reality and decided to focus on what they do best. This is one of the reasons ‘Slaughter Mode‘ was made fully in-house – to prove it to themselves and those around that, indeed, id Software‘s still got it, with Marty taking huge pride in this update for that reason. Hugo pointed out that the studio has 35 years of history and survived through various major pivots, changes and difficult moments, such as when John Carmack left the studio. They’ll get through this one as well, as awful it has been to see so many people go.

The future of id Software

The leads at id Software were here with us to chat about DOOM: The Dark Ages, its Revelations DLC and the new ‘Slaughter Mode‘, but they didn’t shy away from giving us some answers about what’s next for DOOM – most of which came as answers to my questions, in fact. I first asked about whether Revelations will be the final DLC for the game – Hugo Martin pointed out that there’s definitely more stories they could tell, with how the DLC ends, but they aren’t ready to commit to announcing anything. They’re taking a “wait and see” approach based on feedback and reception, basically, but id Software are already focusing on their next big project. No, they did not tell us what that is. Doom, Quake, Rage, maybe something new entirely? I’m dying to find out, that’s for sure!

I also pointed out that, in relation to possible new updates for DOOM: The Dark Ages and in general about DOOM’s future, the series has quite a history with multiplayer and co-op. Classic Doom games had banger co-op and deathmatch modes, Doom 3 had its MP suite, Doom (2016) had a full-blown arena shooter module and Eternal had the asymmetrical Battlemode, yet The Dark Ages had nothing. It was actually a funny moment when I asked the question, because Marty and Hugo looked at one another for a couple seconds that felt way longer than they were, only to say that they’ll defer the question to the future. They focused from early on in The Dark Ages‘ developmeny cycle to deliver a bombastic single player experience, and while they did miss working on some “shared” DOOM experience, that was the trade-off they immediately went for. Again, maybe something in the future might brew, but that look between Marty and Hugo is making my imagination run wild for sure.

Check back in a bit, will ya?

So, the main takeaway here is the free update for DOOM: The Dark Ages‘ Revelations DLC getting a free new horde mode named Slaughter Mode, packing 19 arenas in countless randomized variations and tons of unlocks to grind for. It looks relentless, tough, and it’s releasing in November 2026. Yes, the same month as Grand Theft Auto VI. Footage, screenshots and more info will be released pretty soon, too, so please keep following us to get more of that when that becomes available. Personally, just like in the last 30+ years – I’m always up for more DOOM, so bring it!