Doom fan with weeks left to live is spending them playing The Dark Ages

How would you spend your final days? Many of us might default to thinking about the last meals we’d like to savor, or the people we’d like to say goodbye to before we go. One video game fan, however, wants to spend his final days appreciating the inimitable pleasures of a well-placed headshot. And few shooters do it better than id Software’s 2016 reboot of the iconic shooter, Doom.

At the end of January, Redditor Wanderingreader123 shared a heartfelt thread where he described his battle with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. He said he had been dealing with cancer since 2022, but the illness rapidly progressed in 2026.

“I never imagined myself to be in a situation where my life expectancy has gone down to possibly weeks,” Wanderingreader123 says.

Currently, he’s under hospice care in a facility in Toronto, where the hospital staff offered to fulfill any requests that might make for a more comfortable stay. Wanderingreader123 reminisced on his decade-long fandom of the rebooted Doom franchise, and the way the first-person shooters helped him get through tough times. He had been looking forward to Doom: The Dark Ages, the 2025 sequel to the critically acclaimed Doom Eternal, but he couldn’t afford it.

“Financial issues got in the way, and I kept clinging on the hope that I’ll be able to play the game one day, among others,” Wanderingreader123 says.

“I have been a Doom fan since 2016, and it helped me get through some tough times,” Wanderingreader123 says. “I’ve played through both the Reboot and Eternal (along with its DLCs) and I have nothing but great memories pouring all of my attention into the world of Doom.”

Knowing how much it meant to him, his caretakers went above and beyond. They procured a PS5 for their patient alongside a portable setup that would allow him to rip and tear from the comfort of his own bed. In the Reddit post, Wanderingreader123 shared a photograph of himself smiling as he loaded up Doom Slayer’s latest fight against hell. As of a few days ago, he’s parried and melee’d hordes of demons all the way up to chapter 4 of the game.

Image: Wanderingreader123 / Reddit

The folks at id Software got wind of Wanderingreader123’s story, leading Hugo Martin, a director for several Doom games, to thank Wanderingreader123 for his unwavering fandom.

“I tell the team all the time, people care about our games, we have to put the same amount of care into making them,” Martin wrote. “It has been the honor of our professional lives making these past three games for fans like you. To make the Slayer feel STRONG in DOOM, we infuse him with all the attributes of a true old school hero: we give him strength, courage and heart… we make him like you. RIP AND TEAR my friend. You are the real Slayer.”

Wanderingreader123 and Bethesda did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but both parties have been chatting behind the scenes. Replies on Reddit make it sound like id Software wants to do as much as it can for Wanderingreader123. And with additional content dropping for Doom: The Dark Ages on May 15, there’s still one thing Wanderingreader123 is looking forward to.

“I have nothing but childish glee as I return to my roots as a badass Demon Slayer,” Wanderingreader123 says. “I may not live to see the upcoming DLC, but I am nonetheless happy to finally play the game in my own hands.”