A researcher from the Barcelona Institute of Photonic Sciences managed to run DOOM on a quantum computer. A rarity achieved through an emulator, as there is currently no quantum computer capable of running (playing) the game’s code.

DOOM is the most ported video game in history. The release of the source code and MODs has allowed its massive deployment, so we are no longer surprised to find it on the most unexpected machines. But the most advanced ones, those based on quantum calculations, were missing. which promise a huge leap in performance that will dwarf any current supercomputer. When they reach the commercial market, this is understandable, as there are still important hurdles in controlling qubits.

DOOM on a quantum computer

Behind this new version of the classic among the classics when it comes to shooters is a PhD student at ICFO Barcelona, ​​known online as Lumorti. Research version and not for actual play as there is no color, no music, no sound or other aspects of the original.

Running the game is through an emulator called Quandoom, as it is not possible to do it natively. In the release notes, the researcher jokes about it “It is a well known fact that every useful computing device ever created is capable of running DOOM” and suggests, with rather sour humor, that it shows what we said above in relation to the current usefulness of quantum computers. that “Quandoom may be the first practical use for quantum computers”.

The minimum specifications of a quantum computer to run the Quandoom emulator are quite high. Lumorti claims the code requires 72,376 qubits and 80 million gates. That’s almost like saying your 2024 game needs an RTX 9090because there is no quantum computer available with these types of specifications. Fortunately, you can bypass the physical hardware requirements of qubits and run DOOM on a home PC by running the code in the QASM simulator.

Even with the simulator running on a modest current laptop, Quandoom can achieve between 10 and 20 FPS according to the creator of this port. He shared an animated GIF to show it in action. It looks pretty good, in Atari Battlezone (1980) style. Lumorti calls it X-ray mode.

If you want to play this Quandoom on your PC, after downloading the files from GitHub, just drag the Quandoom.qasm file into the simulator (simulator.exe). Please note that the file will take some time to load and will require approximately 5-6GB of RAM. For those who are into coding, Lumorti offers some tips for compiling code for yourself or for Linux.

A research project contains something over 8000 lines of C++ code, a small 3D engine, game logic and functions using quantum registers. Lumorti says he will release the code if people are interested. Obviously, this is not a project intended for entertainment and rather a demonstration of technology that is waiting for itself Quantum computing can run Doom 2050 natively. Can you imagine that?