Dead by Daylight's new K-pop chapter doesn't add a new killer, but it does sound like one more step towards a healthier game: 'It's a bit of a trial'

The Dead by Daylight roster of horror baddies grows a little longer every year, and up until 2025, the asymmetrical horror arena maintained a (mostly) regular update schedule by adding one major chapter every three months. Those DLC add-ons typically came with a new killer, survivor, and occasional map, but Behaviour adjusted its schedule last year.

Instead of four new killers for the year, Dead by Daylight's Year 10 Roadmap outlined plans for three. The game still received its four major chapters, but one dropped the extra killer. At the time, it sounded like players were getting fewer new toys overall, but that's not the case. Behaviour is filling gaps elsewhere with hefty reworks, quality of life initiatives, and other Dead by Daylight features.

I recently sat down with Behaviour Interactive's senior creative director Dave Richard to talk about Dead by Daylight's Chapter 39 update, All-Kill: Comeback, and The Trickster's rework. As a long-time player, the K-pop killer's sequel chapter stands out. It's the only major Dead by Daylight chapter I can recall that spotlights a rework alongside a new map and survivor.

So with the recent changes to its killer release cadence, I had to ask: Are we going to see more reworks like this in Dead by Daylight's future chapters, or is this a one-off?

"It's a bit of a trial," said Richard. "So this year, we wanted to put more effort on quality of life. We're preparing big system changes because after 10 years, our game has become increasingly difficult to enter, to understand, and it's becoming dense for some players, so we want to make sure that it's more accessible."

Richard highlighted adjustments to the Aura mechanic as an example. As part of the All-Kill update, players can now tweak Aura colors for different interactions based on their preferences. It's a feature I've seen requested often over my years of playing, and Behaviour is looking for ways to keep working these in.

"So, in order to do more of that, we wanted to try: What if a chapter doesn't have a full new killer? It's a rework, there's a cool map, there's a cool survivor. Is this offering enough for our players? Is it interesting? And if it is, that might be something we repeat in the future."

It's easy to see how some killer mains may feel sore over the initial cut, but Richard's framing makes sense when you consider just how dense Dead by Daylight's killer roster is and how much work goes into adding a new big bad. We've seen a few come and go over the years thanks to the game's licensing agreements, but over 40 remain playable today.

You may have a little more time between new killer releases, sure, but that's hopefully resources for other features. This time, the chapter adds a map for a killer who launched without one, a major rework, and a brand new survivor, but future chapters could follow another formula.

As long as it's something new for players to do, Richard sounds open to experimenting: "In the future that could also mean, well, is it a new mode that comes in? Is it a new type of event?"

The jury's still out on what shape chapters could take, but the Dead by Daylight lead seems certain about one thing at least: You're getting updates at the same pace that will always include something new, but they don't have to follow rigid structures.

"We will offer something to players on the same cadence," said Richard. "But the content of that release could change to other types."