Doom is one of the most widely ported video games. Since the original MS-DOS version, it has been released officially for a number of operating systems, video game consoles, handheld game consoles, and other devices. Some of the ports are replications of the DOS version, while others differ considerably, including modifications to the level designs, monsters and game engine, with some ports offering content not included in the original DOS version. Since the Doom engine's source code was released to the public in 1997, hundreds of fan-made ports to various hardware have been developed. Official ports Personal computers
NeXTSTEP This was the version that the MS-DOS product emerged from, since, at the time, id Software was using a NeXTcube for its graphic-engine development. This version is sluggish on anything below an 040 NeXTstation/cube (though it runs smoother with a higher amount of memory), and is missing sound, which was added on the PC side. With NeXT-Step based on i486 architecture, it ran smoothly under all conditions up to screen sizes of 400% with newer hardware. The version running on NeXT is programmed by John Carmack, John Romero, and Dave Taylor.
OS/2 Doom was ported to OS/2 by an independent contractor, Jim Thomas, who was hired by IBM to port it and SimCity. A successful version was demoed in 1994 running in an OS/2 PM window.
IRIX Doom was ported to IRIX during the summer of 1994 by Dave D. Taylor. IRIX Doom was originally based on the unreleased MS-DOS version 1.5, though later updates were based on versions 1.6 and 1.8. No effort was made to take advantage of SGI's advanced graphics hardware, and like many other ports the game was rendered entirely in software rendering mode.
Solaris Doom was ported to Solaris in late 1994, and was designed to run with game files from Doom 1.8. In the readme, the port is credited to "Dave Taylor and the rest of the folks at id Software". It runs on Solaris 2.4 and later. The distribution contained two versions: one for regular X11, and another for Sun DGA.
Classic Mac OS/Mac OS X Classic Doom for Mac was released on November 4, 1994. The Ultimate Doom, Doom II, and Final Doom were ported by Lion Entertainment and released by GT Interactive using a Mac OS launcher application to run original PC WADs. The Mac version runs on System 7 through Mac OS 9 and requires a 68040 or PowerPC processor. Although it can run in Classic under Mac OS X on Power Macs, Panther and Tiger cause graphic artifacts due to the later version of Classic having a double-buffered screen. It can also be played under emulation on Intel and Apple silicon Macs with SheepShaver and QEMU. In addition to an adjustable viewport, it supports rendering at low or high resolutions, and allows network play over AppleTalk as well as IPX.
Linux Doom was ported to Linux by id Software programmer Dave Taylor in 1994. The last Linux Doom binaries were provided by id Software on October 13, 1996, through the company's FTP server.
The source code to the Linux version of Doom was released by id Software on December 23, 1997, under a non-profit End user license agreement; it was re-released on October 3, 1999, under the terms of the GPL-2.0-or-later license. However, the source code to the DOS and Windows versions of the game were not released, due to copyright issues concerning the sound library used by original DOS version and id Software having no access to the source code of the Windows port.John Carmack. Doom source code release notes (DOOMSRC.TXT). December 23, 1997;
Microsoft Windows The first version of Doom for Windows was released under the name Doom 95. A limited version of Doom 95 initially appeared on Microsoft's Games for Windows 95 sampler disc in November 1995. In 1996, The Ultimate Doom (which contained the original three episodes in Doom and a bonus fourth episode) was re-released, with Doom 95 as the in-game title and overall backend. Also that same year, the official standalone expansion pack, Final Doom, had utilized the Doom 95 backend as well. Doom 95 was able to use WADs from the DOS versions. It also allowed users to set up multiplayer games much easier than in DOS. The port was project-led by Gabe Newell and other later founders of Valve.
On September 26, 2001, Doom Collector's Edition was released, containing The Ultimate Doom, Doom II, and Final Doom. It was re-released on January 1, 2004IGN: Doom (Collector's Edition) with added preview content for Doom 3. Some early versions of Doom 3 included the Collector's Edition and a small demon figurine as a bonus. The BFG Edition of Doom 3, released on October 15, 2012, includes The Ultimate Doom as well as Doom II.
On August 3, 2007, The Ultimate Doom, Doom II, and Final Doom were released on Steam. This release runs the original DOS versions of the game using DOSBox, a DOS emulator.
On January 9, 2020, the 25th anniversary release, previously only available on consoles and mobile devices, was released on the Bethesda.net games store. On September 3, 2020 it was also made available on Steam as a free update for the existing DOSBox release, with later releases on GOG.com and the Epic Games Store.
On August 8, 2024, Steam, GOG.com, and Epic Games received a free update which once again replaced the 25th anniversary release with Doom + Doom II. This version was also released on the Microsoft Store.
Acorn RISC OS AcornDoom was released for both the 26 and 32 bit ARM incarnations of RISC OS, by R-Comp Interactive, on February 7, 1998. It was made available in a bundle of three Doom games: The Ultimate Doom, Doom II, and Master Levels for Doom II, as well as the Maximum Doom add-on pack, which contains over 3,000 user levels.
Consoles
Sega 32X The 32X version of Doom was developed by Sega of America and published by Sega and was released on November 21, 1994. It features 17 of the 18 levels from the first two episodes, but none from episode three. This version lacks multiplayer support, does not play in a full screen, and only has the front sprites for the monsters. 10 levels are missing from the original version (twice as many missing levels as any other version of the game). A DOS prompt shows up after the credits roll if the player finishes the game either using cheats or starting from any level other than the first level, locking up the game. Similarly, the secret level cannot be accessed in these scenarios. Due to the lack of the third episode, the BFG 9000 can only be obtained through the use of cheats. Due to poor use of the YM2612 sound chip, this version's soundtrack is considered inferior to that of other versions, and many of the sound effects are missing. As with most mid-90s console ports, the levels come from the Atari Jaguar version. This version does not feature the Cyberdemon, the Spider Mastermind, or the Spectre. There is a level select option that allows the player to start on any of the first fifteen levels, although there is no way to save the game or settings.
In 1995, the 32X version of the game was given a score of 30 out of 40 by Famicom Tsūshin.おオススメ!! ソフト カタログ!!: DOOM ~ドゥーム~. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.335. Pg.116. 12–19 May 1995.
Atari Jaguar The Jaguar version was developed by id Software and published by Atari, and was released on November 28, 1994. This version has more levels than the SNES and 32X versions, and as many levels as the 3DO and GBA versions. id Software had to strip down the port to allow the game to fit on a 2 megabyte cartridge. It features 22 of the PC version's 27 levels, though many of them are simplified, plus two new levels (the levels titled "Tower of Babel" and "Hell Keep" are not the same as the PC levels of the same names).Doom Comparison Guide , ClassicDOOM.com. Refer to "PC Doom/Ultimate Doom and Atari Jaguar Doom map level comparison". Unlike the 32X, SNES, and 3DO versions, this version of the game display occupies the full screen, albeit with an opaque status bar at the bottom. The game runs at a fairly constant and fluid frame-rate. The levels use more complex lighting effects, but have less variation in floor depth and ceiling height. It lacks the Cyberdemon, the Spider Mastermind, and the Spectre. It is compatible with the JagLink 2-console networking device for two players to play deathmatch. The Jaguar version does not have any music during gameplay, but plays the title theme and intermission music with new instruments. Game settings and progress through the levels are saved automatically, and the player can start a new game anywhere up to the last level reached. Instead of having to cycle through the selection of weapons, the player can select a weapon by pressing its corresponding button on the controller's number pad.
Next Generation gave it four out of five stars and called it "Definitely the best Jaguar title we've seen so far."
James "Quasar" Haley, one of the developers of the remastered version of the game Killing Time, confirmed that it was originally based on the Atari Jaguar version of Doom. In particular, developer Rebecca Heineman had used the source code of the Jaguar port as a basis for the 3DO port of Doom, and then used the 3DO port as the basis for Killing Time.
Super Nintendo The SNES version of Doom was developed by Sculptured Software, published by Williams Entertainment, and released on September 1, 1995. The head programmer of the port, Randy Linden, created a new game engine called the Reality engine for the port. The game makes use of the Super FX powered GSU-2 chip (often referred to as the Super FX 2 chip), and was one of the few SNES games to feature a colored cartridge; the game was a red cartridge in the United States. The game was released as a standard gray cartridge in Europe, Australia, and Japan.
The SNES version of Doom features all five of the PC version levels that were missing from the Atari Jaguar version, but is missing a different set of five levels instead. Like the Sega 32X version, this version does not include exclusive levels. The levels included resemble the PC levels more so than other ports. This was also the only home console port of Doom released in the 1990s to feature all three of the original secret levels and boss levels from the PC version. Like the Sega 32X version, the player's heads-up display does not utilize the whole screen, and enemies are only animated from the front, which means that they always face the player. This renders monster infighting impossible, although it is possible for monsters of the same type to damage each other with projectiles. This version of the game lacks both battery back-up saves and a password system, meaning that each episode must be finished from the beginning. Multiplayer was only available if an XBAND modem was used, which included support for two player deathmatch. This version lacks the Spectre enemy (replaced with regular Demon monsters), though it does feature the Cyberdemon and Spider Mastermind boss monsters that the Atari Jaguar, Sega 32X, and 3DO versions lack. In the North American and PAL versions, episode two cannot be played on the "I'm Too Young to Die" and "Hey, Not Too Rough" difficulties, and episode three can only be played on "Ultra-Violence" and "Nightmare" difficulties if one is selected from the game's episode select menu, though it is possible to play episode three on the "Hurt Me Plenty" difficulty if the player beats episode two on that difficulty setting. In the Japanese version, however, all three episodes can be played on any difficulty level.