Doom Eternal is a weird one. Honestly, if you look at the doom eternal steam charts right now, you might think the game is "dead." People love saying that. They see a sub-2,000 average player count and assume the Slayer has finally hung up the Praetor armor for good. But they’re wrong.
The data tells a much more chaotic story.
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When the game launched in March 2020, it hit an all-time peak of 104,891 concurrent players. That was a perfect storm—everyone was stuck inside, and id Software had just released arguably the most polished FPS of the decade. Fast forward to early 2026, and the daily numbers hover between 1,100 and 1,900. On the surface, it’s a massive drop. But for a strictly single-player focused game that's over five years old? Those are actually healthy numbers.
The Post-Dark Ages Renaissance
Something interesting happened in 2025. When Doom: The Dark Ages launched in May, everyone expected players to abandon Eternal entirely. Logic says you move to the new shiny thing, right? Well, the doom eternal steam charts actually saw a massive spike. In May 2025, average players jumped by over 119%, hitting a peak of 7,621.
Why? Because The Dark Ages is a different beast. It’s slower. It’s "heavy metal" but in a projectile-mashing, shield-throwing kind of way.
Players who missed the hyper-kinetic "combat dance" of Eternal—the dash-spamming, the quick-swapping, the sheer verticality—actually went back to the older game to get their fix. It turns out that Eternal occupies a mechanical niche that even its successor didn't quite replace. You’ve got people re-running the Super Gore Nest Master Level just to feel that specific speed again.
Looking at the Numbers (Without the Fluff)
If you’re tracking the doom eternal steam charts for 2026, here is the reality of the situation as of January 13.
The last 30 days show an average of about 1,130 players. That’s a 5% gain over December 2025. It’s small, but it’s consistent. We saw a similar bump back in October 2025 when the game peaked at 5,299 players. Usually, these spikes correlate with Steam Seasonal Sales or the "id Software Publisher Weekend."
Eternal is basically the "comfort food" of the FPS world now. People don't play it once and quit. They keep it installed for those 20-minute bursts of adrenaline.
It’s also worth noting the "Game Pass Effect." Steam only shows us one piece of the puzzle. Since Bethesda is a Microsoft-owned entity, a huge chunk of the PC player base is likely playing via the Xbox App/Game Pass. If we could see those numbers combined with the Steam data, the active Slayer population would likely be double or triple what the public charts suggest.
Why the Multiplayer (BATTLEMODE) Never Saved the Charts
Let’s be real: BATTLEMODE was a gamble. id Software wanted to avoid the "generic" arena shooter feel of Doom 2016's multiplayer, so they gave us 2v1 asymmetric combat.
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It has a cult following. But it didn't provide the long-term "tail" that keeps a game at the top of the Steam charts for years like Counter-Strike or Apex Legends. Most of the people you see on the doom eternal steam charts today are there for the campaign. They’re there for the Horde Mode. Or, increasingly, they’re there for the mods.
The Modding Revolution
The official release of the id Tech 7 modding tools (the Doom Eternal idStudio) changed everything.
Before the tools, modding was a struggle. Now, you’ve got custom campaigns that rival the original game's quality. This is the secret sauce keeping the game alive. When a major new community map drops, you see the needle move on the charts. It’s the same lifecycle that has kept the original 1993 Doom relevant for thirty years.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Slayer
If you’re one of the 1,200 people currently reflected in the doom eternal steam charts, or if you’re thinking about jumping back in, here’s how to make the most of the game in 2026:
- Check the Doom Mod Hub: Don't just stick to the base game. The community has created "Master Level" versions of almost every map that are significantly more challenging than the official ones.
- Watch the Sales Cycles: If you don't own the DLC (The Ancient Gods Part 1 & 2), wait for the inevitable 60-75% discounts that happen every few months. These DLCs are where the real "endgame" difficulty lives.
- Ignore the "Dead Game" Narrative: A game is only dead if you can't find a match (for multiplayer) or if it doesn't run on modern hardware. Eternal runs flawlessly on almost anything, including the Steam Deck, where it's a verified "Great" experience.
The Slayer isn't going anywhere. Even as newer shooters come and go, the mechanical perfection of Doom Eternal ensures it will have a permanent, if smaller, residence on the Steam charts for years to come.