The Doom reverse sleeve poll has a winner

Bethesda held a poll last week to determine which of two new (less banal) images would serve as the reverse sleeve art for Doom, the upcoming reboot of the classic id Software FPS. And the internet, as they say, has spoken.

Here it is – the new reverse sleeve cover for DOOM #VoteLikeHell. Thanks for voting! pic.twitter.com/4cZZr1wJTEMarch 7, 2016

More than 62,000 votes were cast, two-thirds of them for the modernized take on the original Doom cover. For the record, I cast my ballot for the other option, the subtler, more sinister “Black Baphomet” image, but even just a few hours after the poll began, the writing was on the wall.

I bear no bitterness over the loss of my chosen champion, but I do maintain a stubborn hopefulness that the chosen reverse sleeve will become the official front cover of the Doom box instead, and that the second-place finisher will be made the reverse—and that the cover as it currently stands is left to fade into memory, lost amidst a hazy blur of hulking dudes with gigantic guns. Not that I expect that to actually happen, but dare to dream, right?

Doom comes out on May 13.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.