# Final Doom
**Final Doom** is a 1996 compilation of two official standalone episodes for *Doom II*, *TNT: Evilution* and *The Plutonia Experiment*, each containing 32 new levels, published by id Software and developed largely by fan modders rather than by id itself.[1](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Doom_(PC_version)) It runs on the Doom engine and uses the items, characters, and assets of *Doom II*, adding new graphics, textures, and text intermission screens.[1](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Doom_(PC_version)) • [2](https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Final_Doom) Released between *Doom II: Hell on Earth* (1994) and *Doom 64* (1997), it continues the story after the events of *Doom II*.[3](https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/wiki/which-doom-is-final-doom/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | June 17, 1996, published by id Software[1](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Doom_(PC_version)) |
| Contents | Two 32-level episodes (megawads): *TNT: Evilution* and *The Plutonia Experiment*[1](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Doom_(PC_version)) |
| Developers | TeamTNT (Evilution); brothers Dario and Milo Casali (Plutonia)[4](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/FinalDoom) |
| Engine | Slightly modified version of *The Ultimate Doom* engine, using *Doom II* assets[5](https://artikeldigital.com/en/Final_Doom) • [2](https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Final_Doom) |
| Soundtracks | *TNT: Evilution* has a mostly new soundtrack; *The Plutonia Experiment* reuses music from *Doom* and *Doom II*[1](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Doom_(PC_version)) |
| Availability | Bundled into DOOM + DOOM II on Steam/GOG, and included as an add-on in the re-release on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch[6](https://www.skulltag.com/doom/games-in-order/) • [2](https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Final_Doom) |
## Development
*TNT: Evilution* began as a free WAD (the file format for Doom levels and resources) by the modding group TeamTNT. Four and a half hours before its planned release, [John Romero](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-romero), who worked at id Software at the time, offered TeamTNT's leader the chance to turn the project into a commercial product; TeamTNT accepted, and *TNT: Evilution* became half of Final Doom.[7](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/197335-final-doom) TV Tropes describes the purchase as happening mere hours before the intended release date.[4](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/FinalDoom)
The commercialization caused controversy in the Doom community, and *TNT: Evilution* is consequently one of Doomworld's "Top 10 Infamous WADs", though not for reasons of gameplay or level design.[8](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/TNT%3A_Evilution)
**The Casali brothers.** id Software was particularly impressed by two of TeamTNT's contributors, brothers Dario and Milo Casali, who had contributed four levels each to *TNT: Evilution*. After sending an 8-level WAD of their own design to [American McGee](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-mcgee) and impressing him along with the rest of id, they were assigned to create an entirely new set of levels, which became *The Plutonia Experiment*.[9](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/The_Plutonia_Experiment) • [4](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/FinalDoom)
## The two episodes
Each episode is a standalone IWAD, a complete game file similar to *Doom II*, with its own story told through text files and level progression rather than cutscenes.[8](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/TNT%3A_Evilution) • [3](https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/wiki/which-doom-is-final-doom/)
*TNT: Evilution* is the more classically styled of the two, with a mostly new composed soundtrack and only a few recycled tracks.[1](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Doom_(PC_version)) Its difficulty is inconsistent, ranging from around *Doom II* level up to sudden spikes as hard as Plutonia, then back to easy.[4](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/FinalDoom)
Its soundtrack consists entirely of tracks from *Doom* and *Doom II: Hell on Earth*.[1](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Doom_(PC_version))
## Engine and technical notes
Final Doom uses a slightly modified version of the game engine from *The Ultimate Doom*, the 1995 expansion to the original *Doom*.[5](https://artikeldigital.com/en/Final_Doom) The modified engine fixed a bug present in earlier versions, which had the side effect of making *Doom 2* demos incompatible with Final Doom and *Ultimate Doom* executables.[10](https://hv.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2%3A2005207/FULLTEXT01.pdf) In the original version of the game, a programming error made one level unwinnable by design, because a required key was accidentally programmed to appear only in deathmatch mode.[4](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/FinalDoom)
## Place in the series and legacy
The release sits in a distinctive moment of 1990s PC gaming, when boxed level packs for first-person shooters were sold as commercial products alongside games and expansions; *The Master Levels for Doom 2*, distributed somewhat earlier, is regarded as an official expansion to *Doom II*, while Final Doom received a full level-design treatment with connected levels that give it the feel of a proper entry in the saga.[11](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-advent-of-first-person-shooters-introduced-a-wild-frontier-of-unregulated-video-game-level-packs-and-it-ended-in-a-lawsuit-that-changed-copyright-forever/) • [12](https://www.abandonware-france.org/ltf_abandon/ltf_jeu.php?id=382)
TNT and Plutonia also helped establish the high-difficulty style that became common in later Doom megawads.[6](https://www.skulltag.com/doom/games-in-order/) The episodes remain in distribution: they are bundled into DOOM + DOOM II on Steam and GOG, and the modern Doom and Doom 2 re-release includes *TNT: Evilution* and *The Plutonia Experiment* as an add-on edition on platforms including PS4, Xbox One, and [Nintendo Switch](https://www.edgepedia.org/nintendo-switch).[6](https://www.skulltag.com/doom/games-in-order/) • [2](https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Final_Doom) Players can also load the episodes' IWAD files into source ports such as GZDoom, DSDA-Doom, Woof!, Crispy Doom, or Chocolate Doom.[6](https://www.skulltag.com/doom/games-in-order/)
## References
1. [Final Doom (PC version), Doom Wiki](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Doom_(PC_version))
2. [Final Doom, StrategyWiki](https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Final_Doom)
3. [Which Doom is Final Doom?, Games Learning Society](https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/wiki/which-doom-is-final-doom/)
4. [Final Doom (Video Game), TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/FinalDoom)
5. [Final Doom, Artikel Digital](https://artikeldigital.com/en/Final_Doom)
6. [Doom Games in Order, Skulltag](https://www.skulltag.com/doom/games-in-order/)
7. [Final DOOM for PC, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/197335-final-doom)
8. [TNT: Evilution, Doom Wiki](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/TNT%3A_Evilution)
9. [The Plutonia Experiment, Doom Wiki](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/The_Plutonia_Experiment)
10. [Engine improvements and extensions (thesis on the Doom engine)](https://hv.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2%3A2005207/FULLTEXT01.pdf)
11. [The advent of first-person shooters introduced a wild frontier of unregulated video game level packs, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-advent-of-first-person-shooters-introduced-a-wild-frontier-of-unregulated-video-game-level-packs-and-it-ended-in-a-lawsuit-that-changed-copyright-forever/)
12. [Final Doom (Plutonia Experiment + TNT: Evilution), Abandonware France](https://www.abandonware-france.org/ltf_abandon/ltf_jeu.php?id=382)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Individual game titles › Individual PC and computer-platform game titles › Shooter game titles › Science fiction and fantasy shooters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license