In the wake of the global pandemic of COVID-19 Coronavirus, many companies and individuals are making sweeping changes. This week game retailer GameStop announced that they’re releasing DOOM Eternal a day early (Thursday, March 19) “as a safety precaution for our customers and associates.”
To ensure we adhere to CDC-recommended social distancing guidelines, we will be selling DOOM Eternal a day early on Thursday, 3/19 as a safety precaution for our customers and associates. Animal Crossing will release on Friday 3/20 to further help separate the crowds.
— GameStop (@GameStop) March 19, 2020
The reason it’s a safety precaution is because another highly anticipated game is due to release on Friday the 20th: Animal Crossing: New Horizons. By bumping DOOM a day earlier, GameStop is hoping to lessen the crowd of eager gamers coming to GameStop on Friday.
Unfortunately for digital purchasers, you’ll still have to wait until the 20th. Although the Steam page now says Coming March 19, and the release timer has been adjusted to this evening.
DOOM Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons sharing a release date has caused a funny coalition of fans from the wildly different games, including lots of wholesome fanart of Doomguy with Isabelle. Sad to see it broken up in the end, but probably for the best.
DOOM Eternal is the sequel to 2016’s highly lauded DOOM reboot. The seminal first-person shooter series is fast-paced and hyper-violent. It’s releasing today (physically) and tomorrow (digitally) on PlayStation 4, PC (Steam), Stadia, and Xbox One. A Nintendo Switch port is slated for a later release. It’s rated M for Mature.
