Doom Eternal On Sale Early at GameStop Due to COVID-19, Animal Crossing Release Unchanged

Doom Eternal is on sale today at GameStop, even though the game wasn’t supposed to launch until Friday. According to the retailer, they’re selling the game early so as not to overcrowd stores amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This week’s other big release, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, will still only be available on Friday.

To ensure we adhere to CDC-recommended social distancing guidelines, we will be selling DOOM Eternal a day early on Thursday, 3/19 as a safety precaution for our customers and associates. Animal Crossing will release on Friday 3/20 to further help separate the crowds.

— GameStop (@GameStop) March 19, 2020

A number of other retailers in Europe have taken similar steps – Dutch chain Game Mania began selling Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing yesterday, and there are various reports that UK retailer GAME is selling Doom Eternal early as well. According to a report from Video Game Chronicle, Bethesda has given retailers the go-ahead to break Doom Eternal’s street date, so stores selling Doom, but not Animal Crossing, early may not be a social distancing strategy so much as “Bethesda said we could, but Nintendo didn’t.”

Of course, you have to ask yourself – is it worth going to GameStop to get Doom Eternal a day early? According to recent reports, GameStop has not responded particularly well to coronavirus, with many stores not being properly sanitized and allowing sick employees to continue coming to work. Personally, I think I’ll be practicing my patience. If you do decide grabbing Doom is worth it, I’d suggest bringing plenty of hand sanitizer, touching as little as possible, and not lingering once you get your game. Stay safe out there, folks.

Doom Eternal officially hits Xbox One, PS4, and Google Stadia tomorrow (March 20). That said, the game will actually unlock slightly earlier this evening (March 19) on PC.

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