Dead by Daylight Graphical and Animation Overhaul Planned Instead of Sequel

Dead by Daylight has been going strong from a full decade now and is starting to show some of its age, visually speaking. And while most teams would be thinking of releasing a sequel in order modernize a game like this, that is not in the plans for Behaviour Interactive. Instead of making Dead by Daylight 2, the studio is planning to completely overhaul the original’s visuals and animations.

Revealed during the anniversary celebration, this compete modernization is tentatively coming sometime later in 2027 (although, as Behaviour pointed out, that could shift) from a separate dedicated team within Behaviour, meaning it won’t take away from what support the game is currently getting. The studio showed off significantly more detailed character models for a couple Survivors, in addition to a much more expressive facial animation of said Survivor getting impaled by a hook, making the originals look crude in comparison.

Dead by Daylight 2 Isn’t Currently in the Cards

“Obviously, there are a lot of ways to deliver horror experiences,” said creative director Dave Richard. “We want to sell fear and suspense through the visuals, graphics, and immersion in our world. Currently the tools that were are using aren’t to the level of our ambition, so we want to take that immersion to the next level so the trials feel closer to you and you feel that fear.”

Characters, hair, maps, fog, mist, and animation rigs are part of this overhaul. A dynamic weather system that will add light rain, heavy rain, and snow, for example, will be implemented in the future, too. The audio will even be updated, but not many details came out about that.

Executive producer José Ramos spoke to the decision to go down this route instead of making a sequel, iterating on what Behaviour has said in the past.

“People have asked about DBD2 over the years many, many, many times,” said Ramos. “And we have always said it is not something we want to explore. Why? Because starting over would mean leaving too much behind — player progress, the purchases they have made, the time they have invested in the game — and that’s not a trade we are willing to make. So, instead of building a sequel, what we want to do and what we are going to do is evolve DBD itself.”

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Richard also noted it was a move meant to make the “next 10 years [of DBD] something that is even better the first 10.” This is supposed to give Dead by Daylight a better foundation and better fulfill the game’s vision.

With a complete reinvention of the game’s visuals, it’s unlikely this will apply to every system the game is currently on, meaning it is entirely likely those on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch will be stuck with the current visuals. This new visual style also likely lets the team keep existing licenses in place, as a new boxed sequel would mean the team would have to draw up new contracts for its slate of characters from other universes.

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