Dead by Daylight is a asymmetric multiplayer survival horror game developed and published by Behaviour Interactive. Initially Starbreeze Studios was the publisher of the game,…
Dead by Daylight
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Dead by Daylight is an asymmetric multiplayer horror franchise developed and published by Behaviour Interactive, launched June 2016 on PC and subsequently released on all major platforms. The game pits four survivors against one killer in a cat-and-mouse horror scenario where survivors must repair generators and escape while the killer hunts and sacrifices them to a supernatural entity. By 2022 it had surpassed 60 million players worldwide, making it one of the most successful asymmetric multiplayer games ever made and one of the longest-running live service games in the horror genre. The franchise has expanded to include a board game, comics, and a mobile version. The Entity and the FogDead by Daylight’s fiction is built around the Entity, an ancient cosmic being that feeds on hope and despair. It reaches into different realities and times to pull killers and survivors into its realm, a fog-shrouded dimension made of fragments of the real world. The killers are offered power in exchange for hunting survivors. The survivors must endure, find moments of hope, and sometimes escape. Neither side truly wins in any permanent sense. The Entity consumes the emotional energy of the struggle. This framework allows the game to incorporate licensed characters from horror franchises without contradicting their source material because everyone is pulled from their own reality into the Entity’s realm. The Licensed RosterDead by Daylight’s most distinctive ongoing feature is its licensed character roster. Behaviour has partnered with horror IP holders to bring iconic killers and survivors into the game as playable characters. Licensed killers include Michael Myers from Halloween, Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street, Leatherface from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Ghost Face from Scream, Pyramid Head from Silent Hill, the Xenomorph from Alien, Pinhead from Hellraiser, and many others. Licensed survivors include characters from Resident Evil, Stranger Things, and other franchises. This constant stream of new content from beloved horror properties has kept the game culturally relevant long after most live service games would have faded. The crossover events generate genuine excitement in the horror community every time a new license is announced. Original Killers and LoreAlongside licensed characters, Behaviour has created an extensive roster of original killers each with their own backstory, aesthetic, and power set. The Trapper, the Wraith, the Hillbilly, the Nurse, and the Huntress were among the first and remain the most iconic. The Nurse in particular is considered one of the most mechanically complex and skillfully designed killers in the game, teleporting through walls with a blinking ability that requires precise timing. The original killers have expanded lore told through cosmetic descriptions, tome archives, and comics that flesh out the Entity’s realm and the characters it has claimed. The Competitive LandscapeDead by Daylight has outlasted every competitor in the asymmetric horror multiplayer space. Friday the 13th: The Game, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game, Last Year, and VHS all attempted similar formats and none came close to matching its longevity. The combination of consistent updates, licensed crossovers, and an established player base has proven nearly impossible to replicate. The game is entering its tenth year with Behaviour stating it has at least another decade of life in it. Beyond the GameDead by Daylight has expanded significantly beyond the multiplayer experience. A board game adaptation brought the asymmetric gameplay to tabletop. Comics have expanded the lore of the Entity and its killers. A mobile version brought the game to a new audience. Behaviour acquired Red Hook Studios, the developer behind Darkest Dungeon, in 2024. A feature film has been in development. The most significant expansion of the Dead by Daylight universe is The Casting of Frank Stone, a single-player narrative horror game developed by Supermassive Games, the studio behind Until Dawn and The Quarry, and published by Behaviour Interactive in September 2024. Set in Cedar Hills, Oregon, the game tells the story of Frank Stone, a sadistic killer whose murders in a local steel mill in 1963 leave scars across generations. A group of young filmmakers in 1980 sneak into the condemned mill to shoot a horror movie and discover something far worse than they bargained for. The Casting of Frank Stone is set entirely in the real world of the Dead by Daylight universe, outside the Entity’s fog, showing what the world looks like before killers are claimed. For fans of the lore it is packed with easter eggs and references. As a Supermassive game it sits below Until Dawn and The Quarry in quality but above the weaker Dark Pictures entries. The Cutting Room Floor feature, which lets players see all branching paths after completion, is genuinely useful. Frank Stone himself can be unlocked as content in Dead by Daylight through the Deluxe Edition. For a game that started as a mid-budget multiplayer horror title with no guarantees of success, Dead by Daylight has become something genuinely significant in both gaming and horror culture. |
Dead by Daylight is a asymmetric multiplayer survival horror game developed and published by Behaviour Interactive. Initially Starbreeze Studios was the publisher of the game,…