Doom II is still heading to XBLA

By Oli Welsh Published 25 March, 2010

Bethesda just can't say when.

Destructoid has learned that the Xbox Live Arcade version of Doom II, first seen last year, is still intended for release.

"It's still on the cards," said Pete Hines of Bethesda, de facto publisher of the game since it snapped up developer id Software last year. "Just can't give you a date just yet when it will be out."

The XBLA port of Doom II was first spotted at QuakeCon last summer. It's being made by Nerve Software, which worked with id on the excellent Live Arcade version of the original Doom.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (42) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • metalangel #1 2 years ago

    This was on the recently-upgraded-with-totty SentUAMessage too. There's also a new-for-XBLA episode coming with it!

  • Der_tolle_Emil #2 2 years ago

    Definitive purchase. The game just doesn't age at all and is just as much fun (probably even more) than it was when it came out.

  • bad09 #3 2 years ago

    You know what, this article made me realise I bought the ID pack last year and still not touched Doom 1/2. Cheers EG I might just tear myself away from Metro 2033 for a walk down memory lane tonight.

    Now, where's that blue key?

  • bodypopper #4 2 years ago

    Many, many days were lost playing networked multiplayer Doom 2 in the 90s. Let's hope it's not too pricey.
    Edited by bodypopper at 25/03/10 @ 14:15

  • TRUTH #5 2 years ago

    Who the hell plays these crusty old games - look bad, play bad esp compared to games today!..they should all come with HD and widescreen make over.

  • Xerx3s #6 2 years ago

    Doom 1 is still in the weekly xbla sales charts. Says enough about how good these games are I'd say.

  • Xerx3s #7 2 years ago

    "Who the hell plays these crusty old games - look bad, play bad esp compared to games today!..they should all come with HD and widescreen make over. "

    As usual, you have absolutely no fucking clue what you are talking about, do you?

  • bad09 #8 2 years ago

    @Xerx3s

    Amen.

  • Vortex808 #9 2 years ago

    I bought Doom as soon as i signed up to live years ago. Can't wait for this either. Awesome games, that are more than just nostalgia. Some of the very few old games that i still love to play, and are as much fun as they used to be.

  • FooAtari #10 2 years ago

    @TRUTH
    Who the hell plays these crusty old games - look bad, play bad esp compared to games today!..they should all come with HD and widescreen make over.

    Plenty source engines on the PC that improve the looks and feel of the game in different ways. Some stick as close to the original ass possible while modifying to run on modern system while other gave the game a complete make over allowing looking, jumping etc and everything in between. Just showing your ignorance there.

  • Monkey_Puncher #11 2 years ago

    Really looking forward to this!

    Unlike a lot of old 1st person shooter, these games don't age.

  • Gastrian #12 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 17:56:43 13-04-2012

  • rosshuts #13 2 years ago

    Will be getting this for sure!! Can't wait!!

  • geeza2020 #14 2 years ago

    TRUTH - are you too young to remember Doom 1/2? From your post i can assume that you were a twinkle in your fathers eye at the time we were all blasting imps and looking for red/blue/yellow keys. Your loss mate :)

  • TonyCocaCola #15 2 years ago

    Doom is one of the most perfect games ever made.

  • DaemonSpawn #16 2 years ago

    Give me QUAKE! QUAKE! QUAKE! I want it on my 360.

  • Vortex808 #17 2 years ago

    Daemonspawn- was Quake not an extra unlocked after completion of Quake IV on the 360 version? I'm sure i vaguely remember having a bash on it and remembering the layout of some levels. Not as well as i remembered levels of Doom, mind, but still had a reasonable remembrance of it.

  • DaemonSpawn #18 2 years ago

    @Vortex808
    an extra unlocked after completion of Quake IV on the 360 version
    I want Quake on 360, but not THAT badly=). Quake 4 was quite a decent game on PC, but what an ugly laggy mess on 360.
    Edited by DaemonSpawn at 25/03/10 @ 15:53

  • Metalfish #19 2 years ago

    Pffft @ TRUTH for classic trolling.

  • Dreamcast_Luvr #20 2 years ago

    Love Doom 2 ! Wish Epic would port the original Unreal Tournament to 360 , some old shooters are still worth playing.

  • jamie_fear #21 2 years ago

    @Vortex808

    Quake 2 came on an additional disc inside Quake 4 on 360. No sign of Quake 1 although I'd like an XBLA release, complete with expansions too!

  • Vortex808 #22 2 years ago

    It was quake II was it? I'd completely forgotten that. Daemonspawn was definitely right about the state of quake 4 too- i was glad to get it finished and stop having to play it!

  • drumbaby #23 2 years ago

    Good news for Xbox owners...FFS Sony, can we please have a few PSOne FPS games on PSN? DOOM, Alien Trilogy, Disrupter??!!

  • geeza2020 #24 2 years ago

    hehe, Alien Trilogy was freakin amazing. First game I owned on my PSONE. Seriously scary stuff. Sorry for the off-topic post, but the nostalgia made me do it!

  • drumbaby #25 2 years ago

    I bought my PSone (my first ever gaming machine) for that game! I'd love to play it (and DOOM etc) on PS3 -- and especially PSP.

  • TRUTH #26 2 years ago

    I played these games years ago and can now get them virtually for next to nothing!. The point is playing these games now in 2010 esp in there original form is more out of memory of yesteryear rather then a the full enjoyment of enjoying the game...If there gonna release these old games at a exaggerated price then at least improve the game with optional HD, widescreen, framerate improvements plus free added extra content; they did that with SF II HD, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, R-Type HD, Rez HD - these games I bought and liked because they don't look pixelated, bland with bad animation, jerky framerates!...A price worth the makeover, not just the original form which can now play & look very dated - which is then overcharged.

    I played Doom 1 & 3 on my PS 1, Alien Trilogy too!...played some old PS 1 games recently as I still have it with some games. Games then now esp fps do look and play shit!...They may have been classics then, but now in 2010 just look and play simplistic in every sense. Aged not so well these games.

    Play Wipeout 1 & Tekken on PS1 then play Wipeout HD & Tekken 5 - you see how crap PS1 versions now compare to the updates!

    By the way I'm talking about consoles, not bloody PC's!
    Edited by TRUTH at 25/03/10 @ 18:41

  • UKwoods #27 2 years ago

    I'd buy this if it had the sound from the playstation version, not the awful PC noise.

  • drumbaby #28 2 years ago

    Some of the most memorable sound fx evah.

  • rodpad #29 2 years ago

    Not sure what you're talking about Truth, but Doom had a rock solid framerate, something which infact most games nowadays do indeed actually lack.

    Doom 3 on the PS1? What on earth are you talking about?
    Edited by rodpad at 25/03/10 @ 19:02

  • Sharks #30 2 years ago

    Doom 2 > Call of Duty

    Can not wait!

  • bad09 #31 2 years ago

    Christ, speaking of PS1. Who remembers having tons of codes on a scrap of paper because the it didn't support Memory cards? Bloody pain but I remember being so full of pride in finally owning what I could only play on work PCs up to then. :)

    Ah the good old days of early PS1.

    / goes all misty eyed

  • metalangel #32 2 years ago

    @bad09: Remember how old Genesis and SNES games would have a 'notes' page at the back of the manual for writing cheat codes and passwords down? Don't think I had too many PS1-related passwords, but I did have a LOT of memory cards (including one just for Gran Turismo) because they hardly held anything.

    The crown had to go to the Sega CD, though. It only had 125 'blocks' of memory to save games with, and sure enough Third World War required all of them to save. So it was that or nothing. After a long delay Sega finally released the RAM cart which had a ridiculous 2048 blocks of memory - but wasn't recognized by all games. What a pain!

    EDIT: Just remember the Dreamcast was stupid for memory as well. Early stuff like Sega Rally 2 required a buttload of space to save. I ended up getting one of those combination vibropack/memory card things to try and save money. It works pretty well, I guess. A friend got a USB-connectable memory card that also had four 'pages' (each equivalent to one VMU) that you could toggle between with a button on the side, the 'page' indicated by LEDs. Oh, and the VMU! FUCKING THING. I just left the little circuit-interrupter thing in as they just ate CR2032 batteries otherwise, and the piercing BEEEEP of a VMU with the battery disconnected when the DC turned on was a familiar sound in my student house.
    Edited by metalangel at 25/03/10 @ 22:37

  • TRUTH #33 2 years ago

    Mis-typed; meant Doom 2 plus Doom Final Chapters (with extra 30+ levels or something).
    Edited by TRUTH at 28/03/10 @ 16:08

  • Der_tolle_Emil #34 2 years ago

    Ah, the good old days of memory cards. Didn't the N64 pak hold 121 blocks of data (or something like that)? I also remember that some games used up 119 blocks or so. Quite annoying - especially Turok 2 which had a bad habit of erasing memory cards every second or third save. Could never make it past level 2 because by then the card would be empty.

  • Bulbatron #35 2 years ago

    Doom may not look as good as modern shooters, but it plays just as well, despite the limitations.

    Doom, Doom II and Final Doom are still great! So what's the delay with Doom II on XBLA then?

  • smelly #36 2 years ago

    Doom 2 was probably the last fps i truely enjoyed.

    Probably because it relied on gameplay not story/plot/characters/and all that other guff.

  • muscleblade #37 2 years ago

    I have Perfect Dark so i can wait.

  • evaluna #38 2 years ago

    I've been trying to figure out a way to download Doom since I got my 360 years ago - still unable to do it (not available in your location it says, even if I create a US or other country account, must be checking IPs or something). I suppose it will be the same for Doom 2 as well. Goddammit.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #39 2 years ago

    Perfect Dark will easily make the wait much more bearable. It's a shame that there aren't that many FPS games these days where all the levels are not just linear pathways and where you actually have to look after yourself because there is no recharching health. Especially the recharching health thing ruins a lot of the tension. Playing Perfect Dark on XBLA again made me realize even more how much I miss that.

  • geeza2020 #40 2 years ago

    health packs and armour ftw!

  • muscleblade #41 2 years ago

    @Der_tolle_Emil

    Same here.

    No checkpoints every 2 minutes either.

  • rogueJT #42 2 years ago


    Let's hope this is a reasonable 400 points or I ain't biting.