The Post-Game: DOOM Multiplayer Open Beta

I played the DOOM Open Beta this weekend and found it rather easy, with not much content on offer at the moment. Get a good team together, and matches are a breeze. That's great for people who are new to the franchise, but come on now. If companies constantly chase a new audience, they'll lose their old one. Yes, I realize the game is still in beta, but only two modes and a handful of maps? There better be a lot of content in the pipeline for release, but with publishers frequently choosing to offer content as DLC, I'm not certain that will be the case. The only thing going for the game at the moment is the great character customization (including weapons).

There are some balancing issues (most related to OP weapons and large hit-boxes), but that's something that is excused because of the beta status. Old-timers looking for DOOM nostalgia will be bored quickly, but newcomers will find it a fun, fast-paced arena shooter. This is a larger problem in the game industry: it's assumed the "old timers" (those who have been loyal fans for years) will be so happy there is something new in their favorite franchise that they'll overlook the "dumbing down" that is designed to appeal to a larger audience. They won't. Which leaves the new folks to carry the burden of the game's success. But there's little that is new or unique on offer; if the final product is anything like the beta, the DOOM multiplayer component will be yet another "flavor of the month" game until something else comes out.

To address the giant demon in the room:

Why would anyone pay $60 for DOOM with the promise of DLC when Xonotic is completely free and offers tons more content (which is also free)?

And this isn't even getting into the single-player campaign, which is still under wraps. If it proves to be another phoned-in campaign that is clearly playing second-fiddle to the multiplayer, I expect DOOM to crash and burn hard.