Bethesda and id Software have announced Slaughter Mode, a new endless arena mode for DOOM: The Dark Ages. It arrives on Monday, November 16, as a free update for owners of the game's Revelations expansion, and it throws players into escalating rounds of randomized enemies, bosses and arenas. Check out the official post down below:
How Slaughter Mode Works
According to id Software's announcement on the Slayers Club site, no 2 runs through Slaughter Mode play out the same way. Each run is a series of escalating rounds that pull random combinations of encounters, bosses and arenas, and the difficulty rises the further a run goes.
Clearing rounds earns Skulls, the currency for the mode's rewards. Reaching a Round Checkpoint brings a choice:
- Secure: locks in the Skulls earned so far, so they are kept even if the Slayer dies later in the run.
- Risk It: adds to the Skull Multiplier, raising the number of Skulls the rest of the run can earn. Dying while Risk It is active forfeits every unsecured Skull.
Every Round Checkpoint completed also becomes a new starting point for future runs, so later encounters can be reached without replaying the early rounds. Bethesda's post adds that the mode has a personal best leaderboard.
Rewards And Weekly Challenges
Skulls pay for Slayer skins that can only be earned in Slaughter Mode, weapon skins that work in every mode and profile icons. Players can also earn tracks from composer Andrew Hulshult's IDKFA soundtrack, which can be played in both Slaughter Mode and the Ripatorium. Weekly challenges add more ways to earn Skulls.
Bethesda calls the mode an all-new endless survival challenge designed to put even the most seasoned Slayers to the test, and it released the official trailer:
Who Gets It
Slaughter Mode is a free update, but it is only available to players who own Revelations. That includes anyone who bought the Revelations expansion on its own, the DOOM: The Dark Ages Premium Edition or the Premium Upgrade for the base game.
Revelations And The Dark Ages So Far
DOOM: The Dark Ages launched on May 15, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and it was also available on Game Pass from day 1. It reached 3 million players in its first week, the biggest launch in id Software's history. The game moved the series away from the acrobatic combat of DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal toward heavier fighting built around the Shield Saw, which blocks, parries and attacks with a single input, along with melee weapons like a flail and an iron mace. It is a single-player-only game, adds the Skull Crusher, a gun that fires bone fragments, and is the first DOOM game to let players pilot vehicles, including a cybernetic dragon and a 30-story Atlan mech.
Revelations followed on July 7, 2026. The expansion sends the Doom Slayer to confront Hell's High Council, who defeat him with their champion, the Henchman, and banish him to a purgatory beneath their chamber. There, a figure called the Architect helps him gather 3 Ascension Stones, which end up powering the Praetor Suit, the armor the Slayer wears in his later battles against Hell. Its soundtrack, like the base game's, was handled by Finishing Move Inc., with Whitechapel vocalist Phil Bozeman featured on the expansion's music.
Revelations launched on the same day Xbox laid off about half of id Software's staff, as covered in Xbox Cut Doom's Studio In Half The Same Day Its Big Expansion Launched. Earlier this week, the expansion won Best Game Expansion at the 44th Golden Joystick Awards.
How many Round Checkpoints do you think you can clear in Slaughter Mode before you choose Risk It?
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