John Romero Announces Sigil, Free Spiritual Successor to Original Doom

John Romero, the famed game designer and man behind many of the original Doom’s levels, has been teasing an announcement for a couple of days. Most people were expecting a new game, especially after the failed Kickstarter campaign he did with Adrian Carmack, but it’s even better. Romero today announced Sigil, a free mod for the original Doom. That right – a hefty map pack for the 1993’s Doom. Everyone who owns the game will be able to get it in a couple of months, but there’s also a limited run physical edition, if you’re looking to throw some cash Romero’s way.

Sigil is going to pick up where Ultimate Doom left off, after the game’s fourth episode. The megawad is going to be released at some point in February 2019, which means it’s almost done. If you’re OK with just getting the files and playing through the new maps (nine singleplayer ones and nine for deathmatch), it’ll be available for free. If you’re willing to spend, you can also preorder one of two fancy boxed editions until December 24th. To find out more about what each of them includes, visit Sigil’s page on the Romero Games website.

This is honestly the best possible outcome. We get to have Romero doing what Romero is best known for, which is more Doom levels, and he gets to clear his name, generate some publicity for the inevitable new game announcement and maybe even make some money on the boxed editions (one of which includes a statue of the designer’s head on a spike, I shit you not). The mod should work with any version of Doom, even the one that came with Doom 3 BFG Edition, as well as source ports like GZDoom and the like.