5 Franchises id Software Should Return to After DOOM: The Dark Ages

DOOM: The Dark Ages is out this week, and while it’s by all accounts an entertaining game, it’s also quite different than the other DOOM games that came before. It trades a hellish futuristic sci-fi setting for a hellish medieval fantasy one, and slows down the gameplay pace while introducing mechanics like a parry. That shows that developer id Software is eager to do something different with each new game. While there’s a lot of room to play around within DOOM as a franchise, I’d also like to see id Software no longer be shackled by that series.

I’d love to see them create a new world, or better yet, return to one of the fantastic ones it has previously created. As a studio, id Software has created some amazing franchises, but many have fallen by the wayside in recent years, outside of DOOM, Rage, and Wolfenstein. From Quake to Commander Keen, these are some of the franchises I want to see id Software revive next after DOOM: The Dark Ages.

1. Quake

The most obvious franchise for id Software to tackle next is Quake. This fast-paced FPS series revolutionized online competitive shooters, but each game also contains pretty entertaining campaigns in their own right. A new hero shooter-like entry in the series, Quake Champions, has existed for several years. That said, it wasn’t quite as good as the other Quake games that came before and has failed to capture an audience like the latest Doom games have. Building on the medieval aesthetic introduced in DOOM: The Dark Ages, I’d love to see id Software go all-in on a brand new Quake with both single-player and multiplayer modes.

2. Orcs & Elves

Now, for a really surprising deep cut. You probably don’t remember that in the 2000s, id Software made some RPGs for mobile phones. DOOM and Wolfenstein have RPG versions, but Orcs & Elves is an entirely original fantasy IP with two mobile phone games and even a port to Nintendo DS. It’d be a neat design challenge for id Software to either make a first-person, turn-based RPG again or find a way to reimagine Orcs & Elves for modern audiences while turning it into more of a real-time first-person RPG. It’d fit right in alongside the likes of Avowed and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered.

3. Heretic

Going back into the shooter realm, there are some FPS games that id Software published in the 1990s that I’d love to see make a comeback. One such game was Heretic, one of the first shooters to embrace inventory management and let players look up and down. Seeing Heretic’s eerie atmosphere recreated with modern technology would be novel, while emphasizing inventory management more could set it apart from other id Software games. Considering Xbox owns Raven Software, which developed the original now, there should be no rights issues in the way of making this a reality.

4. Hexen

Then, you have Hexen, another FPS series developed by Raven Software and published by id Software in the 1990s. It’s technically a successor to Heretic, but kicked off a series of its own by getting a numbered sequel. Its introduction of character classics and a more open-ended level design both feel ripe for reinterpretation in the modern era. Xbox’s Phil Spencer also seems to have a particular affinity for this franchise, as he has worn Hexen shirts during official appearances for Xbox. As such, this feels like the other franchise most likely to make a comeback outside of Quake.

5. Commander Keen

Finally, we have the franchise that started it all for id Software: Commander Keen. This series of 2D platformers is so different from anything id Software makes now that a return seems unlikely. That said, maybe a drastic change in game design is what the studio needs after working on three DOOM games in a row. I also don’t love that the last we saw of Commander Keen was a mobile game that was cancelled before it was released. This franchise has an important place in gaming history because it put id Software on the map before Wolfenstein, so I don’t want to see it lost to time.