Doom Eternal To Get Horde Mode At Expense Of Invasion Mode

If you, like every other person who played Doom Eternal, thought, “Man, this game could really use a horde mode,” have I got some news for you. The first-person shooter will in fact receive a mode in which you do nothing but pulverize waves of increasingly challenging demons, developer Id Software announced in a tweet today.

On the flip side, the addition of a horde mode comes at the expense of Doom Eternal’s much-anticipated Invasion Mode. Lifting elements from the game’s asynchronous multiplayer, Invasion Mode would’ve allowed human players to take over the role of demons in your campaign. Eternal’s cannon fodder has some smart AI, but no artificial intelligence is a substitute for the unpredictability of real intelligence. (Well, for now.) No two ways about it, Invasion Mode would’ve ramped up the difficulty in Doom Eternal’s already punishing campaign.

Id Software cited the ongoing struggles of working during a global pandemic as a cause for the change in direction.

“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,” the studio wrote. “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 a totally new single-player horde mode.”

Id Software remains tight-lipped about what, exactly, that horde mode will look like, saying that it’ll share more details at this year’s all-digital QuakeCon, planned for August 19 to 21. I’d bet good money it involves killing hundreds and hundreds of demons just for the hell of it. For my sake, I’m hoping it goes light on marauders.

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Read More: How To Send Doom Eternal’s Frustrating Marauders Straight Back To Hell 

Just this week, Doom Eternal received next-gen versions on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Those who own the game on last-gen machines could upgrade for free within the same console family (so, PS4 to PS5, and Xbox One to Xbox Series X or S). The rollout wasn’t exactly smooth. Though Xbox players were able to upgrade with no hiccups, some PS5 players reported an inability to download the newer version. That issue has since been resolved. Regardless, PlayStation players won’t be able to carry over campaign progress from PS4 to PS5.