We conducted a long interview with Alexander Rogaume from the “Dead by Daylight” team. Find out here what was said on topics such as crossplay and Pay2Win.
Dead by Daylight just had a major announcement. After the 4vs1 horror game established itself from being a hidden gem to a long-lasting success, conquering not only PC but also PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, it will also be coming to the Switch. Soon, however, Dead by Daylight will take another step further and aims to be released on mobile devices.
We took the opportunity to conduct an extensive interview with Alexander Rogaume, the Senior Product Manager at Behaviour Interactive. We discussed many topics and could answer numerous questions that newcomers and existing fans might have.
Mein-MMO: For many players, the mobile version will not be the first, but the second platform on which they play the game when they are not at home. Will there be a way to connect existing console and PC accounts with the mobile version accounts? Will progress and unlocks transfer from one platform to another? Or will players have to start over on mobile?
Alexander Rogaume: We believe that Dead by Daylight Mobile will attract a lot of new players, solely due to the platform. Currently, there is no feature that allows transferring existing accounts from PC / console / mobile. Specifically for the mobile version, we want to keep progress separate, as the progression system is a bit different on mobile to accommodate the typical playtime on mobile.
We are considering features to reward existing players when they come from PC or console to mobile, but progress requires a fresh start.
Mobile games are often free to play, but the PC and console versions of Dead by Daylight must be purchased. Will the mobile version be free to play? If so, are there additional ways to spend money compared to the other versions of the game? For example, the option to buy blood points, addons, offerings, or items for real money or premium currency.
Dead by Daylight Mobile will be free to play. The monetization will be the same as on PC and console, with characters and cosmetic items available for purchase. While some aspects of progression are different, we wanted to maintain the fundamental “No Pay to Win” philosophy that our users love.
The biggest difference between the mobile and PC/console versions is the number of characters available at the start. In a way, the premium price on PC/console is defined by all the DLCs that are available there [for free].
Is there hope for cross-play? Any plans for players on consoles to compete with (or against) their friends on PC or mobile?
Cross-play is definitely something we are considering, but not at launch. The reason for this is that we want to provide all our players with a common ground. PC/console players will need to learn a new control pattern, and brand-new players will have to discover the mechanics of Dead by Daylight.
We will closely monitor how the balance of the game evolves and when the time is right, the cross-play topic will come back to the table for us to discuss.
Will there be special balance patches for the mobile version? For example, the Killer “Nurse” is significantly less effective on consoles than on PC, primarily due to the different input devices [controller or mouse and keyboard]. Are you planning special balance changes just for the mobile version?
We have spent a lot of time working on the controls for the mobile version. While some characters are obviously more challenging, we have already reached a point where we are satisfied with the results. With that in mind, balance is a never-ending process of testing and patching, and we expect a lot of useful feedback from our beta phase. We want the community to help us evolve the game over time.
A large part of the gameplay in Dead by Daylight consists of paying attention to small details, such as moving grass, a startled crow, or a subtle movement in the distance. How do you ensure that these details can be captured on a small screen?
Dead by Daylight runs fantastically on the devices we support, and despite the size of the screen, we have managed to include a large amount of gameplay details. We have also incorporated a brand-new set of visual cues that do not exist in the PC/console version. This will help our players receive the same fast feedback to make in-game decisions.
Will all characters from the PC version be playable on mobile? Or are there some that you cannot use due to licensing agreements? We are thinking of Bill, Myers, or the Pig.
Our goal is to have as many characters as possible from the PC/console versions available on mobile. Our entire original content will be included, and we are currently negotiating with licensing partners to bring all the great IPs of the horror world to Dead by Daylight Mobile. We are still in discussions and therefore cannot provide a final list of characters before the talks are completed.
During the 3-year anniversary, many new contents were introduced, such as the Archives. Will this content also appear on the mobile version?
We plan to have a synchronous update process. In other words, all new characters, maps, and customization options available on PC and console will also be available on mobile. The “Archives” will likely take a bit longer to find their way to mobile because we still need to adjust the interface to fit the mobile experience.
The performance of Dead by Daylight was a problem on consoles for a long time and only improved drastically with the recent patches. There are many concerns that Dead by Daylight on the Switch and mobile will now also suffer from such issues for a long time. How do you ensure that the game runs smoothly on most devices?
Smartphones are quite powerful machines. We have invested a lot of time in optimizing the game for mobile. While performance obviously depends on the device in question, we are extremely happy with the results so far. Basically, the game runs extremely well on devices that meet our requirements, and we believe people will be surprised at how well Dead by Daylight Mobile actually performs.
On mobile devices, many fans who play Dead by Daylight on PC/console have already tried similar games like Identity V, which has very similar mechanics. What is the main reason why people should try Dead by Daylight and leave a game they may have already invested hundreds of hours into?
We don’t want anyone to give up a game for Dead by Daylight. We want to provide the best possible experience and let players decide for themselves.
There are indeed games that are very similar to us, but in a way, there is only one Dead by Daylight. When it comes to horror and that great slasher film feel, we believe we have the best game in that area.
One of the biggest differences comes from the fact that Dead by Daylight Mobile was not initially developed as a mobile game. This is the true “Dead by Daylight” experience that we are offering. This experience is loved by millions of players worldwide and comes with the content from 3 years of development, which has been continuously refined.
The visuals and background story [of our game] are very sophisticated, and we don’t shy away from the horror theme. We embrace it, which is why we appeal to a different kind of player.
Lastly, we have all these great IPs and many more to come. We hope that everyone will be able to play their favorite character from horror films in Dead by Daylight and Dead by Daylight Mobile.
Thank you for the interview!
