Dead by Daylight's Universe Is Poised to Expand Beyond Games, Comics (Exclusive)

By Tanner Dedmon

Dead by Daylight's foothold in the asymmetrical multiplayer genre is well established by now, but in May, Behaviour Interactive is looking to leverage the game's influence in another medium. The first comic book based on the world of Dead by Daylight will release on May 24th, a comic starring one of the game's original Killers known as "The Legion." This is the first real cross-medium growth for Dead by Daylight other than animated lore shorts that appear in-game, but based on the scale of the Dead by Daylight universe and comments shared with ComicBook.com during an interview about the new Legion comic, it's clear Behaviour has ambitions for more than just comics and games.

Speaking to Behaviour's head of partnerships Mathieu Côté, we wondered what many others were probably thinking: Why go with a comic book for Dead by Daylight's first non-game release? Without saying what else Behaviour might have in the works, Côté said a comic could be put together a bit quicker than a project that exists in another medium.

"There's a couple of different reasons for that," Côté said when asked why Behaviour opted for a comic first. "One of them – which is, again, a way of not saying things – is comic books can be talked about and produced rather quickly as opposed to other mediums who take a lot more time to come to fruition and therefore be announce-able."

That's not to say a comic was preferred just because it's quicker than something like a TV show or a movie. Côté said there are some stories he prefers reading in comic form, though other stories call for something different.

"Personally, there's stories that I love reading in comic book form," Côté said. "There's some that I think a novel works better, and some games work better, and sometimes it's a TV show that needs to be stretched over a long period. And sometimes it's a short little movie, and sometimes it's anime. And depending on the stories, different medium work better for this."

While it's easy to consider this comic expansion the kickoff of an official, interconnected Dead by Daylight universe, Côté said that sort of universe exists already. There's the game itself as well as the largely unexpected Hooked on You: A Dead by Daylight Dating Sim, and supporting both of those properties is a web of lore deciphered from Tomes and other tidbits strewn throughout the main game. A comic was the perfect starting point for moving beyond games, Côté said, but it won't be the last medium explored nor will The Legion's story be the last comic Behaviour pursues.

"We just started with the perfect medium to tell that story," Côté said on Behaviour's talks with Titan Comics to bring this first comic to fruition. "As you know, there's a ton of other stories that we want to tell in Dead by Daylight, and there's quite a few other mediums at our disposal for that. So, this is not the last one, but it's not the last comic either."

With all these talks of different mediums, we arrived at the big question echoed in replies to Dead by Daylight tweets and other social posts whenever anything vaguely hints at an expanded universe: When is Dead by Daylight getting its TV show or anime adaptation? Nothing concrete is on the table, but it's clearly something Côté and others at Behaviour have considered.

"I wish I could tell you, I really wish I could give you a date or a timetable," Côté said. "I've got the popcorn ready, it's over there. You're absolutely right. I would love to be able to do that."

Côté referenced the surge in game-to-TV adaptations we've seen lately from pretty much every major streaming platform. Not just any adaptations though – successful ones, ones like the League of Legends-based Arcane on Netflix or HBO's ongoing The Last of Us show, ones that have managed to truly satisfy those who know the source material as well as those being introduced to it for the first time.

"Like me, I'm sure you've seen more and more adaptations of video game universes being done as movies or series – especially series – like with The Witcher and Arcane, and now The Last of Us that's playing," Côté said. "There's a hunger for that. And fortunately for us, there is more and more of an understanding of the value and an understanding of the form in the people who are the TV and movie industry. These people are getting a bigger understanding of that. There's a bit more of a sensibility to the stories that we tell, what a good adaptation can look like. But yeah, that's all I can say at this point."

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Dead by Daylight #1 will be available digitally and in comic shops on May 24th. Ahead of that release, you can check out our exclusive preview of the comic's inside pages.

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