Behaviour Interactive's Dead by Daylight celebrated its fourth anniversary last year by extending its reach of horror media crossovers into video games. Dead by Daylight announced Silent Hill content in May 2020 that notably included Pyramid Head. During today's Resident Evil Showcase livestream, it was confirmed that Dead by Daylight's fifth anniversary will continue this trend by including a crossover with Capcom's classic survival horror franchise.
Much of the showcase focused on Resident Evil Village, including an intense story trailer that will likely be the last major discussion of the game before it releases next month. However, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the Resident Evil franchise, so Village is just one piece of the celebration. The April 2021 showcase also touched on the Netflix original series Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness and more.
The reveal of this crossover took the form of a 20-second teaser showing an intentionally vague character being strung up on one of Dead by Daylight's hooks as they drop a bloody charm based on the Umbrella Corporation logo. Behaviour Interactive Game Director Mathieu Cote then congratulates Resident Evil on its anniversary before adding he is "excited" to add the franchise into Dead by Daylight's "horror hall of fame." A Resident Evil-themed Chapter 20 in Dead by Daylight featuring the Umbrella charm will begin this June, but Behaviour will reveal more details in its fifth anniversary broadcast on May 25.
In a press release sent out from Dead by Daylight following the reveal, Creative Director Dave Richard said it is "an absolute honor and joy to welcome the original survival horror game" into The Entity's universe, and that players can expect "iconic content and novel ways to sacrifice or survive inspired by the renowned franchise." This will be following up the game's "All-Kill" Chapter 19, which features a K-Pop killer.
While it has intentionally been kept vague which Resident Evil characters and locales will be coming to Dead by Daylight, the game's history suggests it should show reverence toward the source material. Previous crossovers have ranged from classic horror movie villains like Halloween's Michael Myers to more modern stars like Stranger Things' Demogorgon, and Silent Hill's Pyramid Head set a strong precedent for video game additions.
Whether this crossover acts as an advertisement for Resident Evil Village by including characters like Ethan Winters and Lady Dimitrescu; or it takes a more far-reaching approach with heroes like Jill Valentine, villains like Albert Wesker, or monsters like Nemesis; there will surely be a lot for fans of Resident Evil and Dead by Daylight alike to look forward to. Dead by Daylight Mobile also recently hit its one-year anniversary, so Behaviour Interactive shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Dead By Daylight is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Sources: YouTube, Dead by Daylight
