DOOM: The Dark Ages gets a survival mode, Slaughter Mode, on 16 November

On 16 November 2026, Bethesda and id Software are adding a new game mode to DOOM: The Dark Ages, the shooter released in May 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Slaughter Mode pits the player against waves of demons that never stop. It comes in a free update for owners of Revelations, the game's campaign expansion released on 7 July 2026. The expansion is also included in the game's Premium Edition and in the Premium Upgrade, and players who own these also get Slaughter Mode.

DOOM: The Dark Ages Slaughter Mode arrives on 16 November

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The new mode is an endless combat challenge, in which demons arrive in waves that get more intense from round to round. Enemies, bosses and arenas are chosen at random, so no two runs are the same. The game records personal best scores and offers weekly challenges, which let players earn more rewards.

Each completed round earns skulls, which are used to unlock rewards: Slayer skins exclusive to Slaughter Mode, weapon skins that can be used in every mode of the game, and profile icons. Skulls also unlock tracks from Andrew Hulshult's IDKFA soundtrack, which can then be played in this mode and in the Morgue.

Protect your skulls or risk it all: the choice at each checkpoint

When the player reaches a round checkpoint, they choose between two options. With "Protect", the skulls already earned are kept even if they die later. With "Risk It All", they increase their skull multiplier for the rest of the run, but dying in this mode means losing all the skulls they have not protected. Each checkpoint cleared also becomes a new starting point, so later runs can begin directly at more advanced rounds.

Revelations, the required expansion, adds a new campaign to The Dark Ages, with new levels, new demons and a new weapon, the chain spear. Bethesda detailed the mode on 12 November 2026 on the Slayers Club website, the day Xbox presented it among its 25th anniversary announcements. The Dark Ages is also part of the Game Pass library.

The Dark Ages boxed on Xbox Series X, the standard edition

The standard edition of The Dark Ages on Xbox Series X contains the base game, without the Revelations expansion, which must be bought separately to access the new mode. This prequel to DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal tells the origins of the Slayer's rage, as he fights a medieval war against Hell. The game is rated PEGI 18.