Bethesda Softworks may be subtly teasing an upcoming Doom 2 announcement at E3 2018 this June, judging by recent comments from a studio executive.

Since 1993, Doom has immersed player’s in the violent world of first-person shooters, with the original game being held as one of the pioneering titles in the genre. After several decades of games with varying quality, as well as a maligned live-action Doom movie, the franchise hit the reset button in 2016 with the imaginatively titled Doom. With hopes of a sequel since then, it looks like Bethesda is finally ready to unleash a whole new wave of horror onto PC and consoles.

Speaking to Dualshockers, Bethesda Softworks’ Senior Vice President of Marketing Pete Hines discussed what the company will be bringing to E3 2018. One comment, in particular, stuck out from the rest, especially for Doom fans:

“I couldn’t give you any guesses as to what we’re going to announce and when those games will be out. But I will say, we have a lot of new stuff to talk about at E3. Whether or not folks realize it, this is the Hell on Earth time for us with E3. We are in the midst of so much planning and work for all of that content but I’m really excited.”


For anyone who doesn’t know the significance of Hines’ comments, the focus should be on the “Hell on Earth.” mention. Back in the ’90s, DOOM II: Hell On Earth was the title of the second game, which took series protagonist Doomguy back to Earth, only to discover billions had been killed by the attacking forces of evil.

Released on the MS-DOS, Hell on Earth refined everything that made the first game so great and went on to be the third-best-selling computer game between 1993 and 1999. Here’s hoping that if Bethesda is referring to a new game, it can do just as well as – if not better – than the first Hell on Earth. The 2016 Doom reboot wiped the slate clean and went onto critical and commercial success for the series, so news of a sequel shouldn’t really surprise anyone.

Given the overwhelming success of the reboot, the timing for an E3 announcement could easily match with the news if Bethesda made a sequel a priority. At the moment, they don’t have anything big releasing this year, but that could change at E3. Remember, Bethesda announced both Wolfenstein II and The Evil Within 2 at E3 2017. And they released both games by the end of the year, so players know it can be done for Doom 2 as well.

That being said, the second half of 2018 is looking a little stuffed with big names like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, so is there really room for Doom 2 alongside all the rest? Perhaps, but there’s no denying that Doom has a strong, undying fan base that goes back more than two decades. While Hines’ words could just be a big coincidence, there’s still enough evidence to support a Doom sequel releasing in the near future, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens this summer.