Dead by Daylight has major changes planned. Killers and Survivors will soon be unlockable for free!
The asymmetrical horror game Dead by Daylight is rapidly approaching its third year. The developers still have big plans for 2018 and show no signs of retiring the game or its development. Instead, Behaviour Interactive has revealed how Dead by Daylight will progress in the coming 12 months.
The outlook is promising. There are supposed to be 4 new chapters (each with a Killer, Survivor, and new Map), and the content is said to be available for free!
DLC Killers and Survivors will effectively be Free2Play
The likely biggest announcement is sure to please all players who are short on cash or who have felt put off by the abundance of DLC in the game.
The existing chapters (i.e., Killers and Survivors) will no longer need to be purchased in the shop starting in the summer. Instead, the developers will introduce a way to unlock content through playtime. Killers and Survivors can then be unlocked directly in the game.
Whether this will happen through blood points or another in-game currency is not yet known.
Anyone who does not want to grind for the new content can still purchase the chapters with real money.
Special Case: Licensed Characters
However, the developers point out that the licensed characters (Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, Michael Myers, Amanda, David Tapp, Quentin Smith, and Laurie Strode) may not be available through gameplay alone. They wish to enable this, but they first need to talk to the licensors, who ultimately hold the decision.
The base game will still need to be purchased unless otherwise stated.
Skins and Cosmetic Items as a New Payment Model
For those now wondering “And how will the developers continue to earn their money?”, the answer, which has become typical in the gaming industry, is: cosmetic items. In the future, they plan to offer individual skins for Survivors and Killers directly for money.
Some skin examples have already been provided:
However, the developers also want to be generous here: A large portion (but not all) of the skins should also be available through playtime.
4 New DLCs in the Coming 12 Months
Regarding the steady supply of content, the developers want to remain true to their line. On average, a new “chapter” is to be released every 3 months. A chapter includes a new Killer and a fresh Survivor, each with 3 distinct perks and a thematically appropriate map.
New, however, is that the developers have embedded smaller patches between the major chapters. Here, they deliberately allocate time to address balance issues with the new content and fix general bugs in the game.
One last point: Future patches will always be tested first on the public test server (PC). This should lead to fewer “buggy” patches than in the past.
Cortyn says: Honestly, I have already wondered how long Dead by Daylight will maintain the “one DLC every 3 months” policy, as this increases the purchase barrier for new players. I consider the now targeted solution to be optimal. Hardcore fans can still purchase the chapters directly with real money, and those who prefer to unlock the content receive new long-term motivation. Optional skins as additional purchase offers seem appropriate and coherent to me – I would be fine if the plans are implemented just like that!
How do you like the new plans from Dead by Daylight?
Dead by Daylight had serious issues a while ago – a patch had made the game practically unplayable.
