Dead by Daylight explores sci-fi horror in next chapter

Today's Dead by Daylight seventh anniversary livestream has brought a whole host of announcements for year eight of the game.

The livestream was preceded earlier this week with the news that Nicholas Cage will be facing off against the game's Killers as a Survivor, with more specific information due in July.

The announcements made include details of the next chapter, quality of life improvements, and partnerships with the likes of Slipknot, Iron Maiden, and Ikumi Nakamura.

There's even a new single-player narrative game in the works from The Quarry developer Supermassive Games.

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Dead by Daylight's next chapter branches into sci-fi horror

Over the next year, Behaviour Interactive will add four new chapters to Dead by Daylight: two licensed and two original.

The first of these is the developer's first foray into sci-fi horror and will be available from 14th June across all platforms (and in the PTB from 23rd May, 4pm UK time).

Titled as End Transmission, it takes place on an alien planet and features a new Killer called The Singularity - a rogue AI corrupted by alien technology that takes the form of human flesh and technology combined.

Its main power is to place BioPods on surfaces around each map, into which it can project its consciousness to spy on survivors. With its Slipstream effect ability, it can connect these pods to Survivors and teleport to their location.

New Survivor Gabriel Soma is one of the humans tasked with colonising this distant planet. He's an adept technician and his perks will reflect this. A new EMP tool will also be available when facing The Singularity, which allows Survivors to disable its pods and remove the Slipstream effect.

All of this will take place on a new map, Toba Landing - an alien jungle, including a human base full of low-fi tech and traces of a lost alien civilisation.

As well as this new chapter, Behaviour is introducing some quality of life changes over the next year. This will include an update to perks, re-balancing of maps, using bots to take over if a player drops out of a game, and steps to address camping in the game. Cross-progression across multiple platforms is also in the works. The full roadmap is below.

Iron Maiden and Slipknot cosmetic crossovers

Behaviour is partnering with a number of big names on new cosmetics for the game.

Firstly is the Artists from the Fog collection, which includes designs from four fan artists from the game's community.

A fifth artist is Ikumi Nakamura, known as the concept artist behind Bayonetta and her work on The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo. Nakamura will provide new cosmetics for the game's Japanese characters - The Oni, The Legion, and Yui Kimura - which will be available later this summer.

Further ahead, Behaviour is partnering with metal bands Iron Maiden and Slipknot on cosmetics collections.

No concepts or release dates are yet available, but the Iron Maiden collection will centre on the band's Eddie character, while the Slipknot collection will showcase nine iconic masks.

Lastly, a new cosmetic for the Trapper Killer based on Behaviour's previous game Naughty Bear is soon to be available. Not only will this dress up the Killer as a cuddly bear, it will have its own unique Mori move - a first for the series.

New Supermassive game in the works, and more

Behaviour is branching out with more collaborations outside of the main Dead by Daylight game.

Already announced is the forthcoming film with acclaimed horror studio Blumhouse (Paranormal Activity, Sinister, Insidious, and Get Out). It's unclear if Nicholas Cage will be cast in this film, alongside his appearance in the game. A Dead by Daylight comic book from Titan Comics will also be released in early June.

Behaviour is additionally working with Supermassive Games on a single player interactive story game in the world of Dead by Daylight. The studio is best known for Until Dawn and The Quarry, and this new game will similarly feature life or death choices. More details are expected later this year.

A new multiplayer PvE game in the Dead by Daylight world has also been teased by Behaviour. Developed by Midwinter Entertainment, it will tackle themes of greed and lust for power, and see teams of up to four players taking on a strange new corner of The Entity's Realm.

Lastly, Behaviour is investigating the possibility of releasing its romance visual novel Hooked on You, released last year for PC, on consoles.

In all, there's plenty in the works for Dead by Daylight fans to get their teeth stuck into - both inside and outside the game. Happy seventh birthday!