DOOM Eternal’s Invasion Mode Dropped For New Single-Player Horde Mode

DOOM Eternal creators id Software have announced that the studio is abandoning its long-planned Invasion Mode update in favor of a new single-player horde mode. Invasion Mode would have allowed players to take control of demons in someone else’s single-player campaign, echoing similar ideas in the Dark Souls games.

Invasion Mode was teased even before DOOM Eternal‘s March 2020 release, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced id to switch to remote work, slowing development. Invasion Mode was eventually pushed into a broad 2021 window, as at the time the company’s focus was on the two Ancient Gods expansions.

Work on the Invasion add-on was sabotaged by the “unforeseen consequences of the pandemic and remote working,” id says. The new Horde Mode was chosen as a replacement based on positive response to the expansions and master levels, according to a Twitter update from DOOM Eternal‘s executive producer, Marty Stratton. More information is promised during QuakeCon 2021, which starts August 19. In general, though, horde modes pit players against waves of AI enemies, with breaks in between to rearm and prepare. Each wave assaults players with larger forces and more powerful enemy types. That will likely be simpler to implement than Invasion, which would’ve demanded custom controls and abilities for each demon, balanced for how a human would use them in the campaign rather than AI.

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Work is continuing on a refreshed version of DOOM Eternal’s Battlemode, Stratton adds. This will include “a more competitive, rank-based structure,” a new map, and unspecified feature and balance updates. In its current form, Battlemode pits two playable demons against a Slayer in a best-of-five setup – the demons have the advantage of respawning if their ally stays alive long enough. Focusing on the mode may be ideal for DOOM Eternal‘s current player count. Steam Charts notes that in June, the game was down to an average of 1,858 PC players online, peaking at 5,248. Counts for Xbox, PlayStation, Stadia, and Switch are unknown, and id doesn’t offer cross-play.

The game as a whole has proven successful. In its first month alone DOOM Eternal sold 3 million copies, a figure many games fail to achieve over their entire lifespan. The modest multiplayer base of the last two DOOM games could keep the series focused on single-player in future installments – game director Hugo Martin has suggested that id Software still has more Doom Slayer stories to tell, even if one arc ended with The Ancient Gods Part Two.

Source: id Software

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Roger Fingas
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Originally from Ottawa, Canada, Roger now lives with his family in Austin, Texas. He has years of experience in tech writing, and his gaming specialties include FPS and VR games on the PC.

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