Why id Software is calling it "Doom" and not "Doom 4"

The new Doom game isn't a sequel: it's a reboot.

Doom was shown at QuakeCon 2014 today with a live, combat-focused, single-player demo.

Executive producer Marty Stratton introduced the demo, explaining that the reason the new shooter is called Doom rather than Doom 4 is because "it's an origin game, reimagining everything about the originals". In other words, a reboot. The story kicks off outside a research facility on the surface of Mars, but the demo also included a cave system.

The demo focused on combat, as that's what the team has been working on the most up till now. Gunplay is designed to capture the spirit of the original, with fast-paced run-and-gun at its heart, and some "new combat mechanics and features to evolve the FPS experience".

Whatever it is that has changed, some things remain the same, and one of those is enemies: players will face down demons of various kinds, from smaller types that attack in groups to huge foes that require plenty of bullets to defeat.

Melee attacks are varied, and one particularly useful one is a stomp triggered after stunning an enemy with a firearm. Weapons shown included the shotgun, chainsaw and plasma rifle. Health does not regenerate, but enemies may drop health.

Fans may be pleased to learn the demo contained a lot of blood - as well as all the melee executions and the player's own arm being ripped off by a demon, one sequence had the player tear the arm off a fallen character to access a palm print-locked door. Double jumps are in, too.

Among other details to emerge from our plants in the audience include word that Doom is being built on idTech 6 - the next iteration of the engine after Rage's idTech 5 - and will run at 1080p at 60 FPS on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

The Doom demo is exclusive to QuakeCon, so we're unlikely to receive assets to accompany text reports. Keep your eyes peeled for leaks, though.