As you’d imagine, Doom 3 (2004) wasn’t built for VR. But thanks to work by consummate modders Team Beef, the iconic first-person shooter from id Software can finally be played in all its horrific goodness on Oculus Quest, replete with Touch controls. There’s a few hoops to jump through to get it working, but it’s all in the name of doom-slaying.

Simon Brown (aka ‘Dr. Beef’) released the mod in full on SideQuest this week, which lets you port the game’s original files to the newly rejiggered VR-compatible game engine.

The project doesn’t contain any of the original copyrighted assets, so you’ll need to legally own Doom 3 if you want to play on Quest or Quest 2. At the time of this writing, only the original Doom 3 works (not Doom BFG). You can grab it over on Steam for $5.

The mod itself is free, however the team is also accepting donations through PayPal.

To play, you’ll need to roll up your sleeves and get under the hood a bit. Firstly, you’ll need to set up SideQuest for either your original Quest or Quest 2. Check out our guide on how to install SideQuest to get started.

From there, follow this step-by-step guide on the Doom 3 Quest website, which requires you to copy a few PK4 files from the installed Doom 3 game folder on your PC to the relevant SideQuest folder.

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Team Beef says multiplayer isn’t available yet, however it’s not off the table.

“There is a possibility [multiplayer] may come later, but is however a lot of work,” the team says. “The networking code changed hugely from Doom 3 to BFG. Once this is stable and released we can review our options.”

Considering the team brought to SideQuest Return to Castle WolfensteinQuake, Quake 2, Doom, and Half-Lifeit’s hard to think of a more capable group up to the job.

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If you have a PC VR headset, you won’t be able to play this specific mod, although there are others out there. Team Beef suggests downloading the ‘Fully Possessed Mod’ on Github to get you chainsawing and ripping through Hell’s ugliest baddies.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Andrew Jakobs

    Oh nice, really wanted to replay this game again, but Now I definitely want to play it in VR on my Vive Pro.

  • Amni3D

    The port itself is really good. This works significantly better in VR than Doom 1 or 2 despite sharing a similar structure. Maybe it’s because this is slightly more grounded, and more assets are to scale. Also actually tries to catch you by surprise a few times too, and the light narrative does make it feel more engaging, even if minimal.

    If you’re on Quest or SteamVR, would recommend you check it out, period. Legit better than 90% of VR first person shooters. Something about this game and VR just works.

    • Vili Elonsalo

      I thought this only works on Quest and Quest 2? I only have index.

      • Amni3D

        Grab the Fully Possesed mod (at the end of the article) for a PC port. You’d also be enjoying a greater visual fidelity.
        (Quest version looks good but has many many compromises made)

  • xXx

    Do you know if there is any plan to upgrade mod so it can use DOOM 3 BFG files?

    • namekuseijin

      I don’t think so. however, Doom Classic mod is already working – yes, you can play Doom 1 remade in this engine, it’s awesome

      I’m waiting for them to implement actual dual-handled guns to play more seriously

  • Amazing job, guys!

  • Alex

    Hurt me plenty in VR

  • Jorge Gustavo

    The graphics are a lot better than Battle Sisters