Doom is the daddy of first-person shooters and one of the most influential games of all time, so we battled through hell and put together these lists of the Doom games in order, both by chronological timeline and release date.
Doom: The Dark Ages is set to arrive on May 15, 2025, and we can hardly wait! If you’re a newcomer or only played the last two installments, you might be a bit confused about the loose timeline of the sci-fi-horror-fantasy series.
Now, before diehards move in for a glory kill on us: Yes, we’re aware of the historical importance of level packs and expanded re-releases, many of which have been summoned over the years. That said, the Doom timeline is complicated to understand and explain, even if you stick to the mainline entries. That’s why we’re keeping things simple and focusing on the explicitly canon installments of the veteran FPS franchise.
The Doom games are widely known for taking players to futuristic science installations on Mars, but they also explore Earth as well as other worlds and dimensions… like Hell itself, which appears to be a multiversal nexus (more on that later). Sure, you can just blast your way through them all paying little to no attention to the plot, but we think the wacky lore enhances the whole ride and can make you really fall in love with Doom.
Short on time? We put together a list with the Doom games ranked, worst to best (spoiler: they’re all good). Plus, if you’ve got access to a decent modern PC or Xbox console, the Doom games are among the best space games on Xbox Game Pass that you can instantly jump into at very little cost.
Spoilers ahead for the entire Doom series.
Doom Games in Chronological Order
Putting extra level packs and upgraded re-releases aside, and looking at only the core mainline entries, the in-universe order of the entire Doom franchise is as follows:
- Doom
- Doom II
- Doom 64
- Doom: The Dark Ages
- Doom (2016)
- Doom Eternal
- Doom 3**This takes place in a parallel universe.
1. Doom
- Platforms: PC, Linux, iOS, macOS, Android, Sega Saturn, PS1/3/4, Xbox 360/One, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch
- Developer: id Software
The plot in the original games is minimal and was mostly told through the instruction manual (remember those?) and short text descriptions that served as ‘cutscenes’ when moving to the next episode. The first Doom consists of three episodes: Knee-Deep in the Dead, The Shores of Hell, and Inferno. A fourth titled Thy Flesh Consumed was added in The Ultimate Doom, an extended cut of the game.
Long story short: In the future (no specific year), a marine is sent to Mars on a boring assignment after getting into a fight with a superior officer who ordered him to fire on civilians. There, the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) and the military are working on teleportation experiments. After a rift in dimensions is opened by accident, invaders from Hell enter our reality and it’s up to ‘Doomguy’ to secure the Phobos and Deimos bases. Later, he takes the battle to Hell itself and finds out a portal to Earth has opened too.
2. Doom II: Hell on Earth
- Platforms: PC, Linux, iOS, macOS, Android, Sega Saturn, Tapwave Zodiac, PS1/3/4, Xbox/360/One, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch
- Developer: id Software
Set right after the events of Doom’s four episodes, Doom II: Hell on Earth deals with the invasion of our planet. By the time Doomguy arrives, the demons have already wiped out billions of people. The main character’s first mission is to liberate the spaceport from the hordes of Hell, allowing the surviving humans to escape and blast off into outer space.
An off-planet transmission informs Doomguy where the demons are emerging from: his hometown (what a coincidence). After battling through the town, he reaches a demonic base and enters Hell again to destroy the portal from the other side. Eventually, he finds the Icon of Sin monster and blows it up with rockets. Its demise devastates Hell, closing the portal to Earth too.
3. Doom 64
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo 64/Switch
- Developer: Midway Studios, Nightdive Studios
Whether you consider Final Doom canon or not, Doom 64 marks the next main entry in the overarching Doom series. Due to its Nintendo 64 exclusivity, it was originally overlooked. However, after fan-made ports and the modern 2020 re-release, it could now be considered the ‘true’ Doom 3.
After the events of Doom II, humanity is trying to rebuild and the now irradiated UAC research installations have been quarantined and abandoned. Problems begin anew when a satellite sends a message back to Earth, reporting that an entity escaped destruction and has been resurrecting dead demons and human corpses at one of the installations. Doomguy, the only marine with enough experience to deal with the demons, is sent in alone and makes his way to Hell, again. With the Unmaker weapon, he kills the Mother Demon and decides to just remain in Hell for as long as he can to ensure demonic forces don’t threaten our dimension ever again.
