IS Doom the New Halo?

I recently decided to rip and tear my way through DOOM Eternal in preparation for DOOM The Dark Ages, when a thought occurred to me. 2016's DOOM reboot was an ambitious one, but one of the ways that it stood out was by giving back story and lore to our favorite space marine, formerly known as "DOOM Guy." DOOM and Eternal laid out the origins of the iconic Doom Slayer into a mythic, legendary figure akin to another green-suited, galaxy-saving badass. The Slayer could be the iconic franchise character gamers closely associate with XBOX- even if those games now appear on other platforms.

DOOM 2016 had some pretty bare-bones story elements. While it has some cutscenes, most of the story is in codex journals and audio logs. DOOM Eternal expanded on that idea, moving away from the Mars invasion and shifting to The Slayer taking a more proactive role against the demons who are now invading Earth. DOOM Eternal's opening scene is still one of the most epic intros seen in a first-person shooter, and I couldn't help but be reminded of The Master Chief returning a certain bomb in Halo 2's Cairo Mission. What follows is a galaxy-hopping metal-infused gore that fest eventually leads you back to Earth, as the Slayer hunts down a cabal of hell priests.

The story gives context to the action, and while not the most crucial element, it is not a far cry from how we all used to view the Halo franchise. Microsoft and XBOX are now different beasts than they were. While Halo Infinite's multiplayer still receives regular updates, things have been suspiciously quiet regarding the nature of Halo's single-player future.

Halo Infinite was released in 2021 alongside the XBOX Series X -- and a tentative sequel was in development using the Slipstream Engine, the same one used to create Halo Infinite. Unfortunately, it was cancelled after 343 was rebranded as Halo Studios. In addition, in January 2023, a large chunk of 343 employees were laid off, including many team members who were working on the sequel. Since then, the project has made the jump to Unreal Engine 5. Halo's new direction was announced during a Halo Tournament in October 2024.

And while we await whatever form the "Next generation of Halo" takes, DOOM and the Slayer could be the new face of Xbox going forward.