Kotaku has just published an interesting report highlighting the troubled development process of Doom 4, as well as the hardships faced by the game’s developer, id Software. Announced at QuakeCon 2007, Doom 4 was to be a reimagining of Doom II: Hell on Earth, the same way Doom 3 was a reboot of Doom. In it, demons would somehow find themselves on Earth, and you, the reluctant protagonist, would be enlisted to save humanity.
Besides having a rather generic plot, sources close to id have told Kotaku that gameplay was lacklustre as well, especially since it was trying so hard to appeal to the Call of Duty crowd. It seems the game was even jokingly referenced as ‘Call of Doom’ internally, especially since fighting waves of enemies, engaging in cinematic set-pieces, and mowing down enemies in an obligatory turret section seemed to be the order of the day for Doom 4.
However, after reviewing the game internally, publisher Bethesda felt Doom 4 was just not up to the mark. Bethesda’s president of marketing and PR, Pete Hines said, “Doom 4 did not exhibit the quality and excitement that id and Bethesda intend to deliver and that Doom fans worldwide expect.” He further added, “As a result, id refocused its efforts on a new version of Doom 4 that promises to meet the very high expectations everyone has for this game and this franchise”.
When quizzed about a release date, he went down the obvious “when it’s done” route.
Besides a new release date, ZeniMax, parent company to Bethesda seems to have given id an ultimatum to rework Doom 4 from the ground up and have it ready for the next generation of consoles within a span of two years. Obviously, this isn’t an official statement, but considering how developers are being shut down all the time, we wouldn’t be surprised if this happens, even to a renowned developer like id Software.
Rage 2 was also being worked upon by Id, but going by the lacklustre performance of the first game, both critically and commercially, Rage 2 has reportedly been cancelled as well.