Microsoft teases Doom Eternal coming to Xbox Game Pass with a double-hidden message

Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media promises to be a game-changer in a number of ways, not least for owners of the Xbox Game Pass. Xbox boss Phil Spencer has already confirmed that Bethesda's "iconic franchises," including the big new stuff we're waiting for like Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6, will be added to Game Pass, and now it looks like Doom Eternal is headed there as well.

Word of the big shooter addition came the Xbox Game Pass Twitter account, which tweeted a faux internal memo from "Melissa McGamepass."

"Listen up everybody! Out of all the months this year, this has definitely been the most eventful. On top of the announce of EA Play and cloud gaming (Beta), there's even more new coming your way. Keep reading for more details," the message says.

"Better get excited. Everyone's gonna go crazy when they hear what I'm about to tell you. Low and behold, [REDACTED] is coming to the service very soon! Of course, this needs to remain a secret. We need to resist the temptation of dropping hints for followers."

Melissa said not to drop hints so we're not dropping hints. there are absolutely no hints in this screenshot. don't bother looking for them. there are none pic.twitter.com/0PQ41B260SSeptember 23, 2020

Sharp-eyed readers noticed very quickly that the first letter of each sentence, when strung together, spells out "Look below." Below what, though? There were no follow-up tweets or press releases or anything to reveal what the very obvious teasing was all about. 

But then somebody (possibly many somebodys) got the idea to take a closer look at the image itself, rather than the message, and after playing with the colors a bit, this appeared:

That's almost certainly a reference to the Doom Slayer, the gun-toting god-killer of id Software's Doom reboot. The 2016 reboot could very well be included in the Game Pass addition—Microsoft owns 'em both now, so why not?—but it's interesting to note that a leak pointing to Doom Eternal being added to the pass appeared on Reddit all the way back in April. Better late than never?

The one question hanging over all of this is whether Doom Eternal coming to Xbox Game Pass means it's also coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC, which naturally we can't get confirmation of right now because none of this is officially official yet. I don't know why Microsoft would leave it out, but we'll keep an eye on it and let you know when it's confirmed.

Thanks, Wario64.