Dead by Daylight Announces Collaboration with Dungeons & Dragons

Behaviour Interactive, the maker of Dead by Daylight, has announced a new chapter that draws inspiration from Dungeons & Dragons. The update, named Dead by Daylight: Dungeons & Dragons, will launch on PlayStation on June 3rd, 2024, and will be available on other platforms shortly after. It’s super cool if you’ve been playing Baldur’s Gate 3 or love the tabletop.

The latest chapter introduces Vecna, the archlich, as the new killer in Dead by Daylight. This is the first time Dead by Daylight has expanded beyond a well-known horror series for its licensed content. Meanwhile, Dungeons & Dragons provides a rich world with monsters and dark fantasy themes that could fit the game’s core concept well. It’s easy to see why they did it, but it’s still out of nowhere.

Vecna is known for his magical abilities in D&D lore, and his addition promises to bring a unique gameplay experience. His special power allows him to cycle through four spells: Fly (enhances mobility), Flight of the Damned (projectile attack), Mage Hand (allows interaction with objects in the environment), and Dispelling Sphere (reveals Survivors and disables their magic items).

Survivors are getting new ways to deal with Vecna’s magic. The game update will bring a fresh map, Forgotten Ruins, with a dark fantasy feel inspired by Dungeons & Dragons. Players will come across Treasure Chests around the map, and inside, they may find powerful Magic Items. For example, there’s The Eye of Vecna, which offers temporary invisibility, and The Hand of Vecna, allowing teleportation between lockers.

The new survivors will be Aestri Yazar (Bard) and her counterpart Baermar Uraz. I doubt we’ll see them have insane powers or something that makes them too formidable. Instead, mechanics like a dice roll system will determine the rarity of loot found in chests, adding a layer of random chance familiar to D&D players.

It’s all really interesting because if it does well, we may see the D&D license go to other games, too. I can imagine Fortnite being the next one to capitalize on this.