The Game Director of Dead by Daylight answered our questions in an interview. We spoke about the game, expensive licenses, and a possible movie …
A new Killer will soon be released in Dead by Daylight. The Knight is quite complex and brings along 3 guards. It is remarkable that Dead by Daylight still maintains such an aggressive release policy even after 6 years, continuously releasing Killers and Survivors at a rapid pace.
We from MeinMMO took the opportunity to conduct an interview with Mathieu Côté, the Game Director and Head of Partnerships for Dead by Daylight. We bombarded him with all sorts of questions regarding premium characters, the increasing complexity of the game, whether there will ever be an end, and if it’s time for Dead by Daylight to have its own series. You can find the answers to these questions in this article.
Dead by Daylight: Just “keep it going”?
MeinMMO: If you only look at Steam, Dead by Daylight has become one of the most played games, mostly hanging somewhere in the top 25 and almost always being the most played horror game overall. What does that do to you?
Mathieu Côté: I am incredibly proud that Dead by Daylight remains so active and popular. This is certainly an incredible motivating factor for the entire team to push the boundaries of DbD with new content.
Nearly 3 to 4 Killers per year and even more Survivors – that’s quite an aggressive release plan. Do you want to maintain this in the coming years? Or, since there are already so many characters, do you want to take it a bit easier and focus on other aspects of the game?
The short answer is: Yes, we want to maintain this rhythm. Although we have left out a few elements here and there to focus on refining content, the team has grown tremendously since launch, so we have teams dedicated to this regularly, and some other teams can focus on… other things.
When you create an original Killer, how long does it usually take from the first idea to the release?
From the idea to the release of the Killer takes months. It starts very small, with only a few people talking about what it could be. And in the end, when we are about to announce the new Killer, the entire team is involved.
Which of your original Killers took the most development time and why?
The Trickster, without a doubt. Since the Trickster is heavily inspired by K-Pop, we had to think carefully about how to adapt this Korean pop culture icon to a slasher context. He had to be credible and make sense in a horror setting, so I would say that his development took the longest.
Were there Killers that were cut late in development because they simply didn’t work, weren’t fun, or because you couldn’t manage to make their power as you wanted?
No – a few Killers were discarded early in development, but once we start to “build them for real,” we do that because we are convinced that they will work well, and we always find a way to make them function.
Is Dead by Daylight too hard for newcomers?
As the scope of the game rapidly increases, are you concerned that it may become overwhelming for new players to get into the game? When you ask in the forum how long newcomers need to really understand Dead by Daylight, replies range from 100 to 150 hours and significantly more time for each perk and mechanic. Isn’t that too complex for newcomers? Or do you think that’s more of a strength of the game?
That’s a good question. This is a central issue for all live games. After a few years, we have added so many things to Dead by Daylight that the game history could be a bit overwhelming for a new player. Nevertheless, DbD has the advantage that the unknown and surprises are a big part of the fun. Therefore, the learning experience is enjoyable and dynamic, as you are constantly surprised. Learning is indeed a part of the game.
Is there a point at which you wouldn’t want to add new characters anymore? So, do you see Dead by Daylight surpassing the mark of 40 or 50 Killers?
The most important thing is that I can’t imagine that we would stop. I think diversity is DbD’s greatest strength. It’s just more fun not knowing which Killer you will be facing.
In Dead by Daylight, “Infinites” refers to a specific part of the map that can be exploited so that Survivors can escape from the Killer indefinitely, and the Killer cannot catch up in a normal way. These “infinite” escape routes have been part of the game for a long time but were considered an exploit and bug back then.
If you look back over the last few years, a lot has changed in Dead by Daylight. Earlier, Killers couldn’t damage generators, there were “Infinites,” hooks could be sabotaged forever, and there was no “Endgame Collapse.” All these changes have drastically improved the game. Do you believe that changes of this magnitude are still ahead? Or do you think the core game and mechanics are now “complete”?
I think there are still a few major changes that could happen in the future. When we launched Dead by Daylight, we knew it was a bit “bareboned” – we thought it had everything it needed. Looking back now, we were very naïve. I believe DbD can still be improved and enhanced – in fact, we are constantly trying to do just that.
Licensed content: Slowly, all known Killers are available
If you look at the player numbers for Dead by Daylight on Steam, it becomes obvious that licensed chapters always draw special attention to the game. Many players return, and presumably, some newcomers join as well. Licensed chapters thus hold special significance for the game. Therefore, a few questions about this:
How does the first dialogue with the license holders go? Does your team try to contact them to acquire a character for the game? Or has it ever happened the other way around, where a license holder said: “We would really like our character in your game?”
Of course, all license-related information is highly confidential, but we can say that the conversation dynamics with the rights holders have changed a bit in recent years. We are grateful that people now reach out to us.
When you are in contact with the license holders, does your team already have some ideas developed for the characters? Or do you first make sure to secure the license before your team thinks about what the character could be in Dead by Daylight?
Before we have a conversation with a rights holder, we always make sure that the figure makes sense or if we can find a way to meaningfully integrate it into Dead by Daylight. We don’t want to start these discussions just to end up saying it won’t work – that would be neither effective nor useful.
You probably can’t disclose any details, but are there still horror classics you want to have in the game? Are there currently any negotiations ongoing?
The list is getting shorter – we are very grateful that most of the well-known horror legends are already present in Dead by Daylight. And yes, we are currently talking to people about adding more classic horror legends to our game.
Many contents in Dead by Daylight are unlockable just by playing the game, but licensed characters never are. Is that due to the costs for the license? Or is it a requirement from the license holder to ensure that their characters are always seen as “premium characters”?
We have made unlockable licensed characters available in DbD. Take Survivor Bill from Left For Dead: He has always been available for free, so it is possible to have unlockable licensed characters, although the usual agreements involve licensing fees.
While new licensed characters are added, characters have been removed from sale once: the “Stranger Things” chapter. Has this changed how you handle licensed characters and ensure they remain available for longer? Or is the removal of beloved characters a small but possible threat that cannot be avoided?
It is a small but looming danger, but we are prepared for all eventualities. Because no licensor would grant rights indefinitely – at least none that I know of. Therefore, we always do everything we can to ensure that the content remains in the game.
A few years ago during a developer stream, it was said that Dead by Daylight was developed with the assumption that Survivors wouldn’t use voice chat – and personally, I think those are also the matches in which Dead by Daylight feels the most intense. But the truth is that most Survivor groups are on Discord talking about what the Killer is currently doing. Has that changed how you develop Killers and their powers? Has that caused Killers to become stronger to compensate for the increased knowledge of Survivors?
It’s true that most SWF groups use voice chat, and that affects their performance. We haven’t made any changes in this regard, but we keep it in mind for balancing and design updates.
In Dead by Daylight, “Slugging” refers to when the Killer downs all Survivors without hooking them. The Survivors are then forced to crawl on the ground, reminding some of snails – hence “Slugs”. Slugging is seen as a secure method of victory for the Killer, but at the same time drastically reduces the fun for all involved and is considered toxic.
When talking to Killer players, they often say that they felt strong and powerful in their first game hours, but with increasingly better Survivors at higher ranks, the perception of the game shifts. It slowly becomes so stressful that some players resort to “toxic” strategies such as camping on hooks or “Slugging.” Are there plans to maintain that feeling of power and reduce the stress level of Killers?
The balance between feeling of power and reducing the stress level of Killers is a constant struggle for us. We want Killers to enjoy a sense of power and strength, but there should always be a certain level of tension and stress during the gameplay rounds. The sweet spot is in the middle of the curve, where most players are, and when you get to the top players, the tension takes on a new “flavor.”
Dead by Daylight has gathered many iconic horror characters from the last decades, known mainly because of the movies. Many other games have created movies or series in recent years (Warcraft, League of Legends, Witcher, The Last of Us) – is it not time for Dead by Daylight to also get its own movie or series?
I cannot answer that question. Sorry!
Thank you for the interview!
In the end, a small addendum: We found it quite suspicious that Mathieu Côté couldn’t answer the question about a movie or series, thus leaving room for speculation. It’s possible that a movie or series for Dead by Daylight is currently in the planning phase – as a general rule, such possibilities are no longer discussed.
It’s also suspicious that Behaviour Entertainment is mentioned in the YouTube trailer for “Silent Hill: Ascension”. This is supposed to be an “interactive series” where viewers can likely decide the outcome.
So it remains exciting with Dead by Daylight – whether in the game or in other possible media.
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