id Software's free next-gen update for DOOM Eternal is now available, bringing promised graphics and performance enhancements for players with a PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or a PC, the last of which was already the best-looking version of the first-person shooter. The biggest changes, however, are definitely on consoles. When it comes time to sit down in front of a TV, those players will now have some choices to make for an optimal experience.
DOOM Eternal first shipped for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Stadia in March 2020. The easiest upgrade path to the next-gen version is for Series X/S owners who bought the game digitally - their copy will be updated automatically via Microsoft's Smart Delivery system. Digital buyers with a PS5, meanwhile, must manually fetch their download from the PlayStation Store. On both consoles, people who bought the game on disc are required to insert it for both the upgrade and future play sessions.
All next-gen consoles should benefit from better graphics and performance including dynamic resolution scaling, according to notes from Bethesda, DOOM Eternal's publisher. However, they do have three distinct modes to choose from: Performance, Balanced, and Ray Tracing. Performance supports framerates up to 120fps on 120Hz-compatible displays - resolution is capped at 1080p on the Series S, 1584p on the PS5, and 1800p on the Series X. The Balanced mode limits framerates to 6ofps, but raises resolutions to 1440p on the Series S and 2160p elsewhere. In fact, the mode requires a 4K-capable display, so it may hit that resolution during less intense gameplay.
Ray Tracing is the star attraction, enabling more realistic lighting, including reflections in glass like the Doom Slayer's visor and a number of in-world surfaces. As expected, however, this added visual fidelity comes at the highest cost. Both PS5 and Series X players are capped at 1800p and 60fps, and the mode won't work at all on the Series S, despite that console nearly equaling the Series X in power. Given the existing flexibility of the game on PCs, ray tracing is the only change being made to the PC version of DOOM Eternal.
One final difference is bound to be less welcome. While Series X/S players get to migrate their campaign saves automatically as long as they're logged into same Xbox account, PS5 owners can't transfer saves between consoles. They may therefore have a hard decision to make - continue DOOM Eternal without its new graphical bells and whistles, or start over in an already notoriously difficult single-player mode. The latter might be worth it for gamers struggling to build their next-gen libraries, especially given how much the game benefits from increased player skill on repeated playthroughs. The game's latest update also comes with new free content across all supported platforms, including a new Battlemode arena and a Master Level for the infamous Taras Nabad.
Source: Bethesda