When Gearbox first announced it was bringing "Duke Nukem Forever" to the masses, gamers rejoiced. And when the game finally released, not a gamer felt more than pure disappointment at the steaming pile calling itself "Duke Nukem Forever." Gearbox shoved it onto shelves for its pure marketing value, with very little of its continued existence having anything to do with quality gaming. It seems another fabled franchise is doomed to the same fate: you might even say it's doomed four times over.
Absurdly clever wordplay aside, "Doom 4" still exists somewhere at id Software; it may even be all that exists, but development isn't going so well, according to a Kotaku report.
"They'll keep 'Doom 4' going," an anonymous source tells Kotaku. Sounds promising enough, but the source continues, "they really believe that if they can get the internal strife and disorganization ironed out, 'Doom 4' has a lot of value... What eventually emerges could be anyone's guess."
Here's the problem: "Doom 4" is being looked at for its value, not as an actual game, a lot like "Duke Nukem Forever" when it finally released.
The internal strife and disorganization refers to id Software's decision to scrap a sequel to "Rage," which released to underwhelming critical and commercial reception. With the DLC plan reduced and a team of people with nothing to do, parent company ZeniMax, according to Kotaku, brought down the hammer and told everybody to buckle down on "Doom 4." Again, a promising idea, but the "Rage" team and the original "Doom 4" team allegedly just can't get along. Kotaku writes:
"One source described the scene as a 'power struggle,' as managers from both Rage and Doom 4 tried to figure out how to merge their teams. 'You've got these different cultures and they're all kind of jammed together,' said one source."
ZeniMax even told id "Doom 4" could be as big as Bethesda Softwork's "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim." With ambitions like that, very few games have a chance to fulfill the roll, much less thrive in it. And all this comes after "Doom 4" was neglected for years in favor of the failed "Rage." Focus, it seems, is the largest issue at id Software, and it's an issue without any recent change.
A source describes the game to Kotaku as "unfit for a late-night sci-f channel," referring to the story, which, combined with lack of ownership and contribution over the project, led to an exodus of talent ever since.
"Doom 4" is currently being developed for next-generation consoles, though no release date has ever been determined, according to Kotaku. Nor has id Software or ZeniMax really acknowledged the title publically since 2008.
Despite "Doom 4's" consistently internal path, combined with the likelihood that neither ZeniMax nor id Software would give up the "Doom" property rights, the game's struggle with identity and purpose mirrors the developer-hopping "Duke Nukem Forever."
And yet, perhaps Gearbox will swoop in and "save the day" by cashing in on yet another intellectual property. Between "Duke Nukem Forever" and "Aliens: Colonial Marines," what could go wrong? ZeniMax isn't doing any better, apparently.