DOOM Anthology adds The Dark Ages Premium Edition

Bethesda has folded DOOM: The Dark Ages into the DOOM Anthology, the digital bundle that walks players through the series from its 1993 beginnings to the medieval prequel. The updated package now covers seven titles and, on Bethesda's count, more than 400 critic awards.

The Steam version of the Anthology was updated on 14 September to include DOOM: The Dark Ages Premium Edition. At the same time, Bethesda delisted the DOOM Anthology listings on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 digital stores and put a new bundle, with The Dark Ages included, on sale for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.

What is in the bundle

The Anthology now holds DOOM and DOOM II, DOOM 64, DOOM 3, the 2016 DOOM, DOOM Eternal Deluxe Edition and DOOM: The Dark Ages Premium Edition.

That last one is the substantial addition: the Premium Edition bundles the base game with the Revelations campaign DLC, a digital artbook and soundtrack, and the Divinity Skin Pack, which adds matching skins for the Slayer, his dragon and the Atlan mech.

No free upgrade for existing owners

Bethesda's own FAQ is blunt about what the update does not include. Anyone who bought the Anthology on Steam before 14 September does not get The Dark Ages added to that bundle for free, although Steam owners can buy the Premium Edition at a discounted "Complete Your Set" price as part of the reworked bundle. The same applies on consoles: a purchase made on Xbox or PlayStation before 14 September does not unlock the new game, and there is no upgrade path from the previous-generation bundles.

Existing Xbox One and PlayStation 4 owners keep the ability to download and play what they bought, even though those listings have gone. Anyone who wants the new Anthology has to buy it on Steam, Xbox Series X|S or PlayStation 5.

Our opinion

Bundles are supposed to be the good deal, and this one is doing something more interesting than a price cut: Bethesda is using The Dark Ages as the hook to move the Anthology onto current hardware, which is perfectly reasonable, and then declining to give it to the people who already paid for the older version, which is harder to love. The Complete Your Set discount softens it on Steam, where the maths is at least visible, but console owners are simply told they own a different product now. Three decades of Slayer history in one package is a genuinely appealing thing to sell. Asking loyal customers to buy the last piece twice is not the best way to sell it, and a modest loyalty discount on consoles would have cost Bethesda far less goodwill than this FAQ will.