Dead by Daylight

Did You Know?

• The Nintendo Switch version was ported to Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025.
• Cross-progression between different systems was added in 2024.
• The game became Steam Deck Verified in 2023.

Gameplay

Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical horror game where one player is the Killer and the other four are Survivors. Matches are called trials. Survivors must repair five of seven generators to power two exit gates and escape. The Killer must impale all Survivors on hooks to sacrifice them to the Entity. When only one Survivor remains, an escape hatch opens; if the Killer closes it or an exit gate opens, the two-minute Endgame Collapse begins, extending the timer if any Survivors are incapacitated or hooked. When the timer ends, remaining Survivors are sacrificed. The Killer captures Survivors by striking them twice (first injuring, then putting them into the dying state) or by grabbing them while they interact with objects. Survivors can only be unhooked by others unless they have a self-unhook perk. A second hook forces the Survivor to resist the Entity through skill checks; a third hook results in sacrifice.

Downloadable content

As of August 2026, Dead by Daylight has 51 individual DLC releases. Most include a new Survivor and Killer, except eleven that introduced one character and four that introduced three. Twenty-seven DLCs added new maps accessible to all players. DLCs can be purchased with money or through the in-game store added in June 2018. Non-licensed characters and cosmetics can be bought with iridescent shards, also added in June 2018. Three DLCs (The Last Breath, Left Behind, and A Lullaby for the Dark) were free. Since Curtain Call, each DLC has a Public Test Build on Steam for testing and feedback. Twenty-four DLCs feature licensed Killers and Survivors from films, television, and other video games. Collaborations have added cosmetic items from franchises such as Crypt TV, Attack on Titan, Junji Ito, The Witcher, The Boulet Brothers' Dragula, Nyaight of the Living Cat, Scooby-Doo, Gradius, Half-Life, For Honor, Meet Your Maker, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Rainbow Six Siege, Naughty Bear, Balatro, Karma: The Dark World, It Has My Face, Darkest Dungeon, Diablo, and real people like Ikumi Nakamura, Domrebel, Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Ice Nine Kills, and Nicolas Cage.

Reception

Dead by Daylight received mixed or average reviews on Metacritic. GameSpot gave it 9 out of 10, noting that early issues with peer-to-peer hosting and absent social features were later fixed, and that the game became without peer in asymmetrical competitive multiplayer. Luke Winkie of PC Gamer scored it 88 out of 100, praising its mechanical depth, complex builds, and diverse characters. The game sold over 270,000 copies in its first week, over 1 million within two months, over 3 million by November 2017, and over 5 million by May 2019. It reached 25 million players by August 2020, 36 million by May 2021, 50 million by May 2022, and 60 million by November 2023. Ahead of its tenth anniversary in June 2026, Behaviour announced 70 million lifetime players and an average of one million daily players, calling it the most played horror game in history. Japan became a major market, and an Entity Café opened at Tokyo Skytree in August 2021.

Spin-offs and other media

Hooked on You: A Dead by Daylight Dating Sim, a visual novel dating simulator by Psyop, was released on August 3, 2022, letting players date four original Killers. What the Fog, a co-op roguelike, was released on May 14, 2024, following survivors Dwight, Claudette, and Feng Min. The Casting of Frank Stone, a single-player interactive drama by Supermassive Games, was released on September 3, 2024, with a branching narrative centered on killer Frank Stone and the Entity. Frank Stone was initially announced as a legendary skin for The Trapper in September 2025 but was scrapped due to poor reception and will instead be added as a new killer in its own chapter. An untitled four-player co-op PvE game, Project T, was announced in May 2023 and revealed as a third-person shooter in May 2024, but was canceled in September 2024 after unsatisfactory playtests, leading to the closure of developer Midwinter Entertainment. A Dead by Daylight pinball table for Pinball M was released on November 30, 2023.