Interview: Dead By Daylight Could Have Been A Competitive Title Like League Of Legends

However, embracing the chaotic, blurrier style made more sense for Behaviour Interactive.

Story Highlights

  • Dead by Daylight is one of the most popular horror survival titles in the live service market.
  • The game has collaborated with dozens of notable IPs and continues to expand its universe.
  • We interviewed Mathieu Côté, Head of Partnerships at Behaviour Interactive, over email.

Few titles manage to stay relevant in the fiercely competitive live-service market, and one that seems to dominate this in the survival horror genre is Dead by Daylight. Through strategic collaborations with notable individuals and IPs, the game has successfully expanded its universe while maintaining strong player retention.

With the recent announcement of its upcoming chapter, Doomed Course, fans are even more excited about what’s to come. Considering the studio’s plans to branch out the IP into multiple games, we spoke with Mathieu Côté, Head of Partnerships at Behaviour Interactive, to discuss the future plans and what we can expect from them.

Nicholas Cage Dead By Daylight
Nicolas Cage Lore Art For Dead by Daylight – Credits: Behaviour Interactive.

Could you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your work?

Mathie: Hi! I’m Mathieu Côté, and I’ve been with Behaviour Interactive for over 14 years now. I was the Producer of Dead by Daylight from day one until about the first year after launch. Today I am Head of Partnerships and my focus is on licenses and partnerships for the game. I consider myself incredibly lucky to be able to expand the Dead by Daylight universe year after year, it’s truly been amazing to watch our universe blend with others’ and evolve over time.

Dead by Daylight has collaborated a lot with some notable IPs, and it is most definitely one of the highlights of the game. However, which crossover would you say was the most successful in bringing in new players?

Mathie: The Resident Evil collaboration was an important one, in my opinion. It’s one of the biggest horror franchises in gaming, with a huge, dedicated fanbase, and bringing its iconic characters and lore into Dead by Daylight brought in a whole new audience. The Stranger Things chapter also stands out to me—it was our first time working with something so current and trending. The 80s nostalgia and supernatural elements fit Dead by Daylight’s horror style perfectly, and I think that one also attracted new players.

Licensing and collaboration with other franchises is a difficult and lengthy process. I am curious to know how challenging it was for the team at first to work with other IPs, especially when you didn't have so many successful crossovers to show.

Mathie: It was a bit more challenging in the beginning, to be honest. Even though Dead by Daylight was well received, we didn’t yet have the track record of successful collaborations that we do today. But we were fortunate enough to have Behaviour’s extensive history of working with major IP holders as part of our work-for-hire business. The relationships that we had built definitely helped pave the way. Our team proved that we could handle these other companies’ IPs with care and respect, and as we kept proving that time and time again, it became easier to bring in more iconic franchises to our universe.

The Clown Dead by Daylight
Tome VIII: DELIVERANCE Key Art For Dead by Daylight – Credits: Behaviour Interactive.
Can you tell us a bit about some major decisions you could have taken in the past that may have changed the DbD franchise as we know it?

Mathie: There was a point when we could’ve leaned into a more competitive direction, something close to what you see in games like League of Legends or sports games — with very structured, competitive gameplay. You can now tell that this isn’t the direction we went for, as we felt that embracing the chaotic, blurrier style made more sense for us! We wanted the experience to feel unpredictable and keep players on their toes. 

Despite working with a lot of big franchises, there are always some that fans would love to see you collaborate with. What are some suggestions that you have considered in the past or might like to explore in the future?

Mathie: One name I keep talking about, and that is often brought up, is Stephen King. Needless to say, his contribution to the horror genre is incredible, and introducing his work in Dead by Daylight would be so much fun. There’s a lot of potential there. 

In your opinion, what would be the best way to end Dead by Daylight? Whether it is in terms of no new content or the story itself.

Mathie: We don’t see an end to Dead by Daylight. As long as there are players who want to experience this world, we’ll keep creating and enhancing it. Whenever we expand the story, we aim to leave a few questions unanswered so there’s always something to pull and explore further. It’s all about evolving alongside our players.

The Trickster Dead by Daylight
The Trickster Lore Art For Dead by Daylight – Credits: Behaviour Interactive.
Over a year ago, you stated that the studio sees no reason for a potential sequel. I would like to know what are some reasons that could compel Behaviour Interactive to explore the idea of Dead by Daylight 2.

Mathie: I did say that, and it still stands! Right now, creating a sequel doesn’t make sense for us because we’d essentially be competing with ourselves. No other game has accomplished what Dead by Daylight has, so instead of starting over, we prefer focusing on improving the game we created. We also want to make sure that people can continue to enjoy the large amount of content that many of them have bought. We would prefer they do not have to buy it again. 

Has the studio ever entertained the idea of another live-service game completely separate from DbD? Or should we expect more unique titles, similar to The Casting of Frank Stone, in the future?

Mathie: We did experiment with other live-service games before, like Deathgarden and Meet Your Maker. These games might not have found their audiences, but you can definitely expect to see new games from us in the future. Some connected to the world of Dead by Daylight, and others that explore entirely new ideas. They could be live-service games or a different approach altogether!

The reception for the 2v8 game mode has been phenomenal, and fans are already counting days for its return. What are some major changes that we might expect to this game mode before it is eventually added to the game permanently?

Mathie: The response to 2v8 mode has been so fun to see! It was something we wanted to experiment with, and it was great to see we found a format that our players enjoyed right away. Nothing is set in stone regarding if 2v8 will become a permanent addition to the game, but we’re currently working on tweaks to make it as fun and balanced as possible. If it does become a permanent mode, we’ll keep fine-tuning it based on player feedback, just as we do with other aspects of the game. 

Tome 5 Unleashed Dead by Daylight
Tome V: UNLEASHED Key Art For Dead by Daylight – Credits: Behaviour Interactive.
Since several licensed characters might not make it to the 2v8 mode, how does the studio plan on making it engaging and even more fun in the long run?

Mathie: This one is a bit tricky to answer, because some licensed characters are already in line to join the 2v8 mode,. The goal is to eventually bring as many of our killers, licensed and originals as possible. At this point, it’s more of a matter of tweaking the powers and making them coherent and fun with this new game mode.

Anything exciting we can expect before the end of 2024? And what are some major plans you can talk about for 2025?

Mathie:

We always have exciting stuff going on! Before the end of 2024, we have a collaboration with the Boulet Brothers and an entire Dragula episode dedicated to Dead by Daylight airing. We also have an original Chapter releasing with a new Killer, Survivor and map being added to the game.

As of 2025, we already announced that the long-awaited franchise Five Nights at Freddy’s would be brought in Dead by Daylight. That’s all I can share for now, but fans can expect other major announcements coming, as usual!

Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers? Something we haven't touched upon yet.

Mathie: Just a big thank you to our community. Dead by Daylight wouldn’t be what it is without our players — they’re truly the reason we keep pushing ourselves to do better. It’s been an incredible journey, and it’s far from over. We’ve got a lot more in store, so stay tuned!

Descend Beyond Dead By Daylight
Descend Beyond Key Art For Dead by Daylight – Credits: Behaviour Interactive.

Dead by Daylight is an online multiplayer survival horror title developed and published by Behaviour Interactive. It is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4 & 5, PC, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS. The game had been running on Unreal Engine 4 since its release in 2016 but was upgraded to Unreal Engine 5 in April 2024. We thank Mathieu Côté for answering our questions and Scott Fry for helping us with the interview.

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Mudassir is a seasoned journalist with a passion for uncovering the stories behind our favorite virtual worlds. Armed with a trusty notepad and a keen curiosity, he dives headfirst into the gaming industry's most exciting personalities. His knack for insightful questions and his ability to connect with developers and gamers alike makes his interviews a must-read. While on the lookout for the next person to interview, Mudassir keeps himself busy by writing news surrounding the gaming universe. Experience: 4+ Years || Senior Journalist || Education: Bachelor's in Psychology.

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