Project T, the Dead by Daylight PvE spin-off, has been cancelled after the playtest 'yielded unsatisfactory overall results'
Project T's story came to an end before we even got to see what a Dead by Daylight PvE multiplayer would be like for ourselves. A few days ago, Behaviour Interactive announced that the project would be terminated following some pretty poor playtest feedback.
"Following the playtest in July, we ran a thorough internal risk assessment from a product and commercial perspective," Behaviour Interactive says in a tweet. "While a number of players expressed appreciation for what they played, unfortunately, the outcome of this deep analysis yielded unsatisfactory overall results."
When Behaviour Interactive first announced Project T, it also created a new platform where fans could share information and opinions on the new game. This was called the Insider Program, and it was how Behaviour collected feedback from players about Project T. This was also where players voiced concerns about the upcoming project, which ultimately led to its termination. There's no mention of any specific issues players had with the game but there were obviously a few.
It's certainly a shame that Project T's time has come to an end so quickly, but some fans aren't all that unhappy. "Not really surprised—it looked very generic, and there was nothing they really talked about in those teasers that sounded stand-out or fun when they were obviously put out to gauge interest," one player says.
I liked Project T's look when I saw the first concept video a few months ago. While there wasn't any indication of what the game would look like beyond sketches and a few pieces of concept art, I thought a PvE multiplayer horror game set in an ever-changing map sounded pretty cool.
The Backwater would be full of enemies that somewhat resembled the infected from Left 4 Dead 2, as well as some beautiful and sinister locations like dark pine forests, ritualistic sacrificial pits, and lonely derelict houses. It seemed like the perfect setting for a horror game.
But if the feedback from the Insider Program was bad enough for this project to be cancelled, then I have no doubt that this is probably for the best. I think Concord's demise is a good example of what happens when a studio ignores player feedback and strong-arms a game into existence.
The multiplayer horror genre is also so saturated with plenty of fantastic games like Lethal Company, The Outlast Trials, and Phasmophobia that if Project T was anything less than sensational, it probably wouldn't have sold well and, therefore, would have been a bit of a black hole in Behaviour Interactive's wallet.