The Roundup: Doom launch anniversary news extras

id Software released Doom at midnight on Dec 10, 1993.

By
Mark Tyson
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Its doom

Doom transformed PC gaming. id’s Doom is considered to be one of the most influential games in video gaming history. As well as making gamers thirst more, faster, and better 3D, it popularised the first-person shooter genre, and “deathmatch” network multiplayer frolics. Any controversy that came from its devilish and gory subject matter only increased its notoriety and raised Doom’s profile among its early adopter audience.

The game also spelled doom for 16-bit home computer rivals like the Amiga and ST, which couldn’t fight off the MHz muscle of the 486-era PCs. Incidentally, Nvidia was founded in January 1993. However, it wasn’t until 1995, with the launch of the first 3Dfx Voodoo Graphics card, the Nvidia NV1 and the ATI 3D Rage that the seismic shift from home 16-bit machines to PCs was completed… but for a few stubborn stragglers, and some Mac converts. Windows 95’s launch also made PCs much more user-friendly, and introduced DirectX.

PC technology

Gaming

  • The original PUBG is going free-to-play
  • Epic Games Store now features a shopping cart for purchasing multiple things at once
  • Alan Wake 2 will be released in 2023 for PC on the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S
  • Nvidia’s GeForce NOW app update version 2.0.36 includes a new feature linking Nvidia and Ubisoft accounts to enable faster Ubisoft Connect game launches

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