New update brings widescreen and Steam support for classic FPSs Doom and Doom II

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Expect "QOL improvements, performance optimization, and more!"

(Image credit: Bethesda)

There's a new update out for the classic FPSs, Doom and Doom II.

In an update on Bethesda's website, the developer says the update is available for all platforms, and it "includes QOL improvements, performance optimization, and more!"

The most notable improvement, perhaps, is confirmation that anyone who already owns either The Ultimate Doom or Doom II: Hell On Earth on Steam will "automatically" receive the new re-releases in their Steam libraries, although the original DOS versions will still be available "as a separate launch option from within Steam, and the original DOS IWAD files are in their original location on disk". 

The update also brings widescreen rendering support, which means – "for the first time in an official port" – the original Doom renderer has been modified to "natively render 16:9 without any letterboxing". The FOV has also been increased to reveal "more image on the side instead of chopping off the top and bottom", as well as new 16:9 versions of the titlescreen, intermission, and ending screens, too. 

Doom Eternal's upcoming DLC, The Ancient Gods: Part One, will be available to buy as a standalone game. This means fans interested in picking up the new adventure but do not have the base game – or perhaps do have it but have not yet finished the main campaign – will be able to get in on the action when it releases on October 20, 2020.

"When we look at how many people have played through the game we have a large percentage - higher than 2016 - that have completed it, so you're always looking at that and seeing how far players make it through your game," Doom Eternal's executive producer, Marty Stratton, explained at the time.

The Ancient Gods picks up after the end of the main story in a time where, due to the Slayer's actions, the armies of heaven and hell have fallen out of balance. The demons have flooded in to overtake the weakened angelic realm, so the Slayer's been called in to clean up the mess. This is just part one of the DLC, so it looks like the cleanup is going to take a while. 

Doom Eternal will be a free upgrade on PS5 and Xbox Series X. 

Vikki Blake
Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.