You Can Now Play DOOM Directly On Bitcoin

Ordinals’ Bitcoin NFTs are evolving, advancing from pixelated memes and pet rocks to a playable DOOM clone in a matter of days

article-image

Shutterstock.com/Lauren Elisabeth, modified by Blockworks

share

It happened. Bitcoin runs DOOM.

To the delight of crypto Twitter and Reddit circles, someone has uploaded a cloned version of the 30-year-old video game classic DOOM to the Bitcoin blockchain as an inscription on the network’s own NFT protocol, Ordinals. 

Thanks to a happenstance loophole enabled by Bitcoin’s Taproot upgrade pushed in Nov. 2021, a budget (read: free) version of DOOM has been permanently etched on a single satoshi via block 774526, which was added to the blockchain on Wednesday morning.

Being written to Bitcoin means the functional game will forever live on the immutable blockchain. As long as the network is online, folks can play this version of DOOM.

Web browsers are still required to compile the code, but forcing unconventional technologies to run DOOM is a meme in tech culture. Crafty hackers have made DOOM run via pregnancy tests, calculators, ATMs, smart watches, toasters and Pelotons — even “unhackable” crypto wallets, among other zany conduits.

While the clone is fun in its own blocky-and-basic way, an actual copy of the real DOOM looks destined to make it to the Bitcoin blockchain sometime soon (a Reddit thread from Feb. 2018 suggests DOOM was once playable on Ethereum, however the linked YouTube video is now unavailable).

DOOM on Bitcoin via a single satoshi

Meanwhile, Ordinals continues to pepper conversation amongst Bitcoiners as the community parses what bringing NFTs to the oldest blockchain really means for the future of network and the NFT ecosystem writ large.

The protocol notably just enabled the biggest-ever Bitcoin block to be mined. A high-definition “Taproot wizard” was inscribed to a satoshi this week, clocking a 3.96MB transaction — close to Bitcoin’s 4MB block size limit (originally 1MB but stretchable via SegWit).

As for the DOOM Ordinal, it was only 31.2 KB big. 

Remember: It’s not the size that matters. The ability to run DOOM is far more important.

Updated Feb. 3, 2022 at 3:42 am ET: Added context.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template (1).jpg

Research

As AI supercharges surveillance, privacy becomes a prerequisite and the winning stack will combine confidentiality with selective disclosure. Zcash’s Tachyon, composable standards on Ethereum/Solana, and compliance-aware pools aim to make private rails the new norm.

article-image

Staking levels in the ether funds will depend on protocol unstaking queue times and anticipated redemption activity, firm says

article-image

ETF inflows, miner strength, and tightening supply drive Bitcoin past its prior peak amid renewed demand for scarce assets

by Blockworks /
article-image

The Guidestar team, led by Alex Nezlobin, will join Uniswap Labs to enhance automated market maker design and smart order routing

by Blockworks /
article-image

Zac Prince spearheads Galaxy’s push into consumer banking with high-yield cash, crypto, and stock trading features

by Blockworks /
article-image

Swiss regulator Gespa is assessing whether FIFA’s tokenized ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup violate gambling laws

by Blockworks /