Wolfenstein: The New Order arrives May 23 with DOOM beta access
Bethesda will be bundling beta keys for the forthcoming Doom sequel with copies of Wolfenstein: The New Order, which goes on sale on the 23rd of May
Bethesda has finally announced the release date for upcoming alternate future shooter Wolfenstein: The New Order, and has thrown in a little extra sweetener for anyone that puts in a pre-order: beta access to the new Doom game.
The New Order is the latest entry in the long-running Wolfenstein franchise, which puts a spin on the World War II setting by asking what would have happened if Hitler won the war. Moving the action to twenty years later, where the Nazis now control the globe with an iron fist and advanced technology. Expect the series staples of non-stop action, black humour and futuristic Nazi death machines to all make an appearance, including giant mechanical spider-bots, robotic death dogs.
As the first game from MachineGames, which was founded in 2009 by exiting members of developer Starbreeze, The New Order marks a big departure for the series but also breathes life into the World War II genre, which has all but been abandoned once Battlefield, Call of Duty and Medal of Honor all moved to focus on present day conflicts. The game will be available on the 23rd of May here in the UK and in Europe, but wil arrive a few days earlier on the 20th in the US.
To celebrate the announcement, Bethesda has released a new trailer. We’ve embedded it below but beware – there’s lots of gory Blazkowicz-on-Nazi violence within:
If that wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, there’s an added incentive: beta access to the new Doom. We’ve known a new Doom game was in the works as far back as 2008 when developer id software announced it as Doom 4, but has remained tight-lipped on its progress ever since. We now know that we’ll be getting a first look at the game relatively soon – at least if you pick up The New Order. The beta won’t be arriving alongside the new Wolfenstein: instead it will come at a later, unspecified date.
Bethesda have cunningly avoided calling the new Doom game Doom 4 (it will be the forth major iteration, not counting expansion packs, after all) suggesting it could be a reboot, or that it will take the series in a different direction altogether. One thing is certain: series creator John Carmack won’t be involved, as he has left his position at id software to join the development team working on the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset.
We’ll be taking a closer look at The New Order in the coming weeks, and will of course be bringing you more news of Doom when we get it.