Doom mods, no pun intended, are eternal. Ever since the first WADs were beamed across dial-up internet back in 1993, id Software's FPS game and its accompanying level creation tools have become an artistic medium in and of themselves; digital versions of brush and canvas through which myriad budding game-makers may share their visions with the world. One infamous Doom mod, however, has reportedly been pulled from the official listings by Bethesda, which apparently claims it cannot appear in the studio's certified catalogue owing to its political nature. The Starfield and Skyrim maker, which also holds the rights to the Doom series, says that it has received reports of the mod's political subject matter and removed it as a result.
Thatcher's Techbase is a FPS game following the launch of the Doom 1 and Doom 2 compilation in August. Sharing what is apparently an email from Bethesda, however, Purvis says that Thatcher's Techbase has now been removed from Doom's certified mod listings.
"Bad news, everyone," Purvis writes alongside what appears to be an email from the Elder Scrolls developer. "The creation Thatcher's Techbase has been reported for real-world politics and has been removed," the supposed message from Bethesda explains.
"As a result, this is receiving an educational notice. While this action was not taken as a violation of our of Service or Code of Conduct, we encourage you to educate yourself on the modding guidelines and community rules."
As of Monday September 2, however, it appears that an alternate version of Thatcher's Techbase has been ed to the official Doom mod catalogue, at least for the PC edition of the Doom 1 and Doom 2 compilation. This ed of Thatcher's Techbase is credited to a 'letskissbro' – Jim Purvis, creator of Thatcher's Techbase, uses the X handle 'letshugbro.'
Set within "The Tenth Circle of Hell: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland," Thatcher's Techbase is essentially a fan-made single-player campaign. PCGamesN has ed Bethesda and will update this story with any official comment.
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