Famous Doom mod allegedly banned by Bethesda for political reasons

Downfall Mods, no pun intended, are forever. Since the first WADs were sent over dial-up internet in 1993, id Software's FPS game and its accompanying level creation tools have become an artistic medium in themselves; digital versions of the paintbrush and canvas that countless aspiring game developers can use to share their visions with the world. However, one infamous Doom mod has reportedly been removed from official listings by Bethesda because its political nature prevents the mod from appearing in the studio's certified catalog. The maker of Starfield and Skyrim, which also owns the rights to the Doom series, says it received reports of the mod's political content and has therefore removed it.

Thatcher's Techbase is a Doom mod by Jim Purvis that sees you infiltrate a demonic lair run by the former British Prime Minister to eliminate her and her infernal army. Originally released in 2021, it was recently added to the official mod collection for the FPS game following the release of the Doom 1 and Doom 2 compilation in August. However, Purvis shares an email that appears to be from Bethesda, saying that Thatcher's Techbase has now been removed from Doom's certified mod lists.

“Bad news, folks,” Purvis writes next to an email that appears to be from the Elder Scrolls developer. “The Thatcher Techbase creation has been reported and removed due to real-world politics,” the alleged message from Bethesda reads.

“For this reason, this account is receiving a notification. While this action is not considered a violation of our Terms of Service or Code of Conduct, we encourage you to read up on the Modding Guidelines and Community Rules.”

However, as of Monday, September 2, an alternate version of Thatcher's Techbase appears to have been uploaded to the official Doom mod catalog, at least for the PC edition of the Doom 1 and Doom 2 compilation. This upload of Thatcher's Techbase is attributed to a “letskissbro” – Jim Purvis, the creator of Thatcher's Techbase, uses the X-name “letshugbro”.

Thatcher's Techbase is set in the “Tenth Circle of Hell: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” and is essentially a fan-made single-player campaign. PCGamesN has reached out to Bethesda and will update this story with any official comment.

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