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Yes, DOOM really can run inside Microsoft Word—but the headline refers to a project published on January 20, 2025, not a new 2026 release. DooM-docm, created by Wojciech Graj, uses a macro-enabled Word document to extract and run a native DOOM engine library, then displays the resulting frames as images in the document.
It is a clever technical experiment, not a sensible way to play DOOM. Opening the file requires executable VBA and a native DLL, so watching the demonstration is safer than enabling an unknown macro document on your everyday PC.
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What “DOOM in Word” actually means
DooM-docm is not a video of DOOM playing inside a document, and Word is not running the entire game in VBA. The project is based on doomgeneric and divides the work between Word’s VBA environment and a compiled Windows library.
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In practical terms, Word acts as the loader, loop controller, and display surface. The native DLL runs the game-side logic and generates each frame. The repository says the project requires Windows on an x64 CPU and the latest version of desktop Microsoft Word. It also has no sound.
Hackaday’s January 2025 coverage reported a release document of approximately 6.6 MB, though release sizes can change.
How the Word port works
Word document
↓
VBA extracts the embedded DLL and WAD
↓
Native DOOM DLL advances the game
↓
The DLL creates the current bitmap frame
↓
VBA replaces the previous image in WordThe project repeatedly inserts a bitmap of the current game frame into the document. Keyboard state is polled through Windows’ GetAsyncKeyState API. This explains both the achievement and the awkwardness: Word is being used as a repeatedly updated image container rather than as a purpose-built graphics system.
Hackaday described the result as relatively smooth, but that is an observation rather than a published performance benchmark. Responsiveness can vary with the Word build, Windows configuration, CPU, security software, and document rendering behavior.
Controls and requirements
The project’s README lists these controls:
| Action | Key |
|---|---|
| Move forward | Arrow Up |
| Move backward | Arrow Down |
| Turn or move left | Arrow Left |
| Turn or move right | Arrow Right |
| Fire | Ctrl |
| Use or open doors | Space |
| Select weapons | 1–7 |
The documented requirements are Windows, an x64 CPU, a current/latest desktop version of Microsoft Word, and permission for Word to run VBA and the extracted DLL. The project should not be treated as supported on Word for the web, Word for Mac, iOS, Android, or 32-bit Windows; those platforms do not meet its stated Windows/x64 requirements.
There is also no documented modern mouse-look scheme, sound, or the convenience and compatibility normally expected from a conventional DOOM source port.
The documented launch steps—and the warning attached to them
Security warning: Do not enable macros in a downloaded Word file unless you understand and trust its source and behavior. This project extracts and loads native executable code, so it should not be opened on a work computer or a machine containing sensitive files and credentials.
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The project documents this procedure:
- Download
doom.docmfrom the project’s latest GitHub release. - Right-click the file and choose Properties.
- On the General tab, select Unblock, if that option is available.
- Open the file in desktop Microsoft Word.
- Select Enable Content in Word’s security warning bar.
Those are not ordinary installation steps. They are actions that satisfy or bypass protections designed to prevent malicious documents from running code.
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Why Office and Windows may block it
Microsoft blocks or restricts internet-originated macros by default in current Microsoft 365 configurations. Downloaded files can carry Windows’ Mark of the Web, and Word may disable their active content. Windows Defender or another endpoint security product may also object when a document extracts a DLL and launches it—behavior that resembles a common malicious-document technique.
Microsoft’s guidance is clear: macro-enabled files can contain malicious code, and users should enable active content only when the file and its source are trusted. The project’s own README warns that users may have to “fight Windows Defender.” That warning does not prove the project is malware, but neither does public source code amount to an independent security audit of every release artifact.
Should you run it?
- For playing DOOM: No. A normal, supported source port is safer, more practical, and better equipped.
- For seeing the novelty: Watch the demonstration linked from Hackaday.
- For studying the engineering: Inspect the source without enabling the document’s macros, or build it only in an isolated development environment.
- On a work or primary computer: No.
If you experiment despite the risks, use a fully updated, disposable Windows environment with no sensitive data and no important credentials. Do not globally enable macros, add arbitrary download folders as trusted locations, or routinely disable antivirus protection. Restore your normal security settings afterward.
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If it does not run
There is no “Unblock” option
The file may not be marked as internet-originated, may be stored on a network share, or may be subject to enterprise policy. Microsoft notes that the option may be unavailable or ineffective for some locations and managed systems.
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There is no “Enable Content” button
Macros may be blocked by organization policy, the file may remain in a protected state, or antivirus software may have quarantined the extracted DLL. Do not treat disabling security software as the default fix; stop and inspect the file, policy, and security alert instead.
Word opens, but nothing happens
Likely causes include disabled macros, using Word for the web or another unsupported client, a blocked or deleted DLL, an incomplete download, or keyboard focus being outside the Word window. These are troubleshooting possibilities rather than a formal compatibility diagnosis from the project.
The verdict
DooM-docm is a genuine and inventive DOOM port. Its interest lies in turning a macro-enabled Word document into a loader and bitmap-based game display, not in making DOOM better to play. The security warnings are part of the technical story—not obstacles to casually ignore.
For most readers, the right choice is to watch the demonstration, inspect the open-source implementation if curious, and leave the macro-enabled document unopened on a normal computer.
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