Dead by Daylight fans are about to get their next fix, not from a new game update but a comic book release.
Last year we heard that Behaviour Interactive had partnered with Titan Comics to bring the cat-and-mouse style video game to life as a comic book. Fans were told to anticipate a March 2023 release, however a new date is pencilled in for May 24th.
The comic stars one of the game’s original killers, The Legion. Rather than one individual, The Legion is a group of murderous killers. The comic will follow the character Frank and how he forms the group with Julie, Joey and Susie to wreak havoc in the small town of Ormond.
Dead by Daylight meets comics
Dead by Daylight was released in 2016 and has since grown a popular fanbase. The title is still being supported with updates and recently saw its 31st killer added to the roster. The game is known for its animated shorts that often accompany the release of new characters and content, but other than that, the comic will mark the game’s first true cross-medium growth.
Creators of the game Behaviour Interactive‘s head of partnerships, Mathieu Côté spoke with ComicBook.com on the long-term ambitions for the game. It was expressed that Behaviour may be looking beyond that of video games and comic books but opted to release a comic first as it’s a quicker project and some stories work better in this format.
“Personally, there’s stories that I love reading in comic book form. There’s some that I think a novel works better, and some games work better, and sometimes it’s a TV show that needs to be stretched over a long period. And sometimes it’s a short little movie, and sometimes it’s anime. And depending on the stories, different mediums work better for this.” Said Côté.
Building the franchise
Dead by Daylight fans have been asking if a TV show or animated series is possible based on the game. It appears there may be some hope as Côté claims that, “There’s a ton of other stories we want to tell in Dead by Daylight, and there’s quite a few other mediums at our disposal for that. So, this is not the last one, but it’s not the last comic either.” While Côté couldn’t share any concrete details or plans for a TV show, it certainly seems like something the team is hoping to create in the future.
While bringing games to TV and film is nothing new, we have seen a significant surge in video game adaptations in the last couple of years. HBO’s The Last of Us has seen a successful first seven episodes, so much so that the show has boosted the game’s sales figures. We have seen popular adaptations of League of Legends-based story Arcane on Netflix, Cyberpunk EdgeRunners and The Witcher.
Côté commented on these adaptations saying “There’s a hunger for that. And fortunately for us, there is more and more of an understanding of the value and an understanding of the form in the people who are in the TV and movie industry. These people are getting a bigger understanding of that. There’s a bit more of a sensibility to the stories that we tell, what a good adaptation can look like. But yeah, that’s all I can say at this point.”
More comics incoming
Dead by Daylight isn’t the only video game title getting a comic book release. Ubisoft‘s long-awaited pirate game Skull and Bones, which has been delayed numerous times, is getting a Dark Horse Comics release. So while fans continue to wait to play the actual game, they can at least dive into the world of Skull and Bones in comic book format.
Named Skull and Bones: Savage Storm, the comic is a spin-off title following a merchant vessel on the high seas that is besieged by a crew of pirates. To make matters worse, a typhoon hits leaving the crew and pirates stranded on an island. The first issue of this comic is available now.
