Dead By Daylight, the asymmetrical multiplayer horror title from Behaviour Interactive, is set to celebrate its impressive tenth anniversary this June. This milestone is particularly notable given the game was not originally conceived as a live-service experience with long-term roadmaps. While the core gameplay has largely remained consistent since its launch, Behaviour has meticulously expanded the game over the years, now boasting approximately 50,000 daily players on Steam, in addition to its wide availability across multiple consoles.
During a recent interview at GDC, Behaviour’s Senior Creative Director Dave Richard and Head of Partnerships Mathieu Cote reflected on this remarkable journey. Cote described reaching the ten-year mark as “crazy,” attributing the game’s success to a fortunate convergence of the right format, timing, collaborators, community, and, as Richard added, “a whole heaping pile of luck.”
Cote emphasized that Dead By Daylight’s evolution into a live-service game was not a pre-planned strategy. The initial intention was simply to release the game and return to Behaviour’s primary business of developing games for other clients. However, player demand quickly demonstrated that this plan needed to change. “Literally within the first few days we realized no, no, we have to stick at this,” Cote stated, highlighting the immediate necessity to maintain the development team.
Features now integral to live-service games, such as cosmetic stores and battle passes, were not part of Dead By Daylight’s initial offering. Richard noted these elements were in their infancy when the game launched and were introduced years later—the in-game store in year three and the battle pass in year four. This gradual integration allowed DBD to adapt and grow over an extended period, a flexibility many contemporary titles do not possess.
Cote pointed out a compelling statistic: approximately 40% to 50% of total gaming hours are spent on games that are four years old or more. He considers Dead By Daylight fortunate to be among these enduring titles, having successfully carved out and dominated its niche early on. Richard affirmed this, stating, “Now we’ve built kind of a legacy. So yeah, absolutely there to stay forever.”
When pressed on plans for the next decade, both Cote and Richard responded in unison with a resounding “At least!” The pair shared a laugh, indicating their strong belief in the game’s continued future. While specific details about upcoming content remain under wraps, they promised many surprises would be unveiled during an upcoming anniversary presentation, coinciding with a major physical celebration planned in Montreal.