DOOM Eternal Invasion mode axed, but it's not all bad news

By Eric Abent/July 2, 2021 12:32 pm EST

DOOM Eternal launched a little more than a year ago, and you'd think that after delivering the base game along with two expansions, the folks at id Software would be ready to close the book on DOOM Eternal's development. You would be wrong, though, as today, id Software delivered a new update on that front. While there are things to look forward to, unfortunately, id's announcement wasn't all good news.

Before diving into what's coming up, DOOM Eternal executive director summed up where we're at right now, noting that while both Ancient Gods expansions are available on most platforms at the moment, The Ancient Gods – Part Two will be coming to Switch later this year. He also spent some time talking about the recently released Update 6, which you can read about in our coverage from earlier this week.

An important update on the development of DOOM Eternal from id Software Executive Producer Marty Stratton. pic.twitter.com/RPfhek2crI

— id Software (@idSoftware) July 2, 2021

Then we got into what's next for the game, with Stratton announcing that DOOM Eternal's planned Invasion Mode has been canned. "As many are aware, we intended to release a free Invasion Mode update for the game; however, the unforeseen consequences of the pandemic and remote working impacted the progress of development for this addition," Stratton said. "Over this time, we have also seen and heard how many of you enjoy the range of gameplay and combat available in the expansions and master levels."

"With these factors in mind, we have decided to redirect our focus from Invasion Mode to creating a totally new single-player horde mode." Unfortunately, Stratton didn't elaborate much on what this single-player horde mode will entail, though he did note that it will offer players "more of the diversity and challenge" they're looking for.

We're also going to see more work on refreshing Battlemode, with a "more competitive, ranked-based structure" on the way, along with a new map and some balance updates. More will be shared on that front during QuakeCon in August, and we can probably expect to hear more about this horde mode then as well. We'll let you know when more is revealed, but for now, know that additional content is on the way to DOOM Eternal.