8 Video Game Franchises That Reclaimed Their Throne

After dominating the 1990s with its own mixture of controversy and innovation, id Software started off the new millennium in style with Doom 3 in 2004. Aside from being known as the game that made people spend mountains of cash to upgrade their PC, Doom 3 also marked a shift in style for the series.

The rollercoaster ride of action and destruction that defined the first two games was slightly softened, making way for more of a deliberate horror experience. Doom 3 was a technical masterpiece, but the cost was that the series began to develop something of an identity crisis.

Doom 4 would undergo numerous hurdles, becoming stuck in development hell for nearly ten years. It was in development for so long that series creator John Carmack left id Software to join Oculus VR, which left fans wondering exactly what Doom 4 would end up becoming. Prototype footage of the game even showed Doom 4 looking more like a military shooter, akin to something like Call of Duty.

Thankfully, Doom would opt for a hard reboot and in 2016, id Software released one of the greatest first-person shooters of all time. It was Doom's time to show the rest how it was done, featuring savage combat and brutal glory kills. It was fast and fearless, feeling like the original Doom games cranked up to 11.