Dead by Daylight delays next licensed chapter to fix ever-growing list of issues

Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive has responded to player concerns with a new video talking about its plans to tighten up the multiplayer horror game in the coming months. The studio has faced recent criticism for several incidents, including slow responses to balance concerns, hackers disrupting livestreams, and a sense that new additions are being prioritized to the detriment of the core game. Now, the developers have responded with a definitive roadmap, which moves back some of its content plans to work on fundamental fixes.

Hot off the heels of its newest patch, which heralds the return of the limited-time 2v8 mode, it's already time to look to the horror game's future. The Dead by Daylight team writes: "We've heard your response to our recent communications, and we know that right now solid action is what's needed." This is followed by a video where executive producer José Ramos and community director Eric Pope talk through the current and next steps the studio is taking "to address the current state of the game."

This new Dead by Daylight roadmap lists a big stack of quality-of-life updates that are designed to keep what's long been one of our best multiplayer games in the spot it fought so hard to earn. In the short-term, a third hotfix is coming the week beginning Monday August 25 to tackle issues and bugs from July's big update. The next chapter's PTB will therefore move back into early September, giving extra time for some polish on the update, which was first shown at PAX and is themed all around folklore.

The next licensed DBD chapter, which follows on from its recent collaborations with FNAF and The Walking Dead, has also been delayed. It was originally scheduled for November on the roadmap, but will now be moved into January and merged with the planned mid-chapter release for that month. "That doesn't mean we are not going to have a release in November," Ramos says; instead that month's release will be "fully focused on bug fixing and quality of life, in addition to our winter event."

Pope then turns to the longer term, which he defines as February onwards. "We are looking at a response to something I hear a lot in the community, which is, 'Behavior, slow down on the content and fix your game.' So I think we're going to do that." There will therefore be no new Killer in the March release, which instead is all about improving the core experience, stamping out bugs, and making overall upgrades to the quality of life. Both a Survivor and a new map are currently planned for this chapter, but they're still up in the air.

"We are going to decide and challenge ourselves," Ramos says of the March chapter. "A Survivor brings perks, and perks can be time consuming in terms of finding the right balance. The map is progressing really well, it's a very exciting new realm that we think people are going to enjoy a lot. So right now our plan is to keep that map.

"It's important to always find that balance of still having something exciting and new to experience and we think this map is going to be quite influential in that sense," Ramos explains. "But not having a Killer and potentially not having a Survivor is going to free up a lot of space."

Alongside this, the team has three more big goals on its plate. These include an MMR rework to improve the game's matchmaking, which won't arrive this year in order to find "a solution that is something that all players love." Prestige rewards are being developed, and the team is looking to build "something that we can deliver on forever, which works with all licenses that we have in the game." This is likely to arrive in March, Ramos says.

Lastly, a perk preview feature for lobbies is in the works, and Ramos confirms that you'll be able to see your fellow survivors' perks once you're in the match when the March update lands. This might come to lobbies at a later date, but the team is handling this change with caution. "We will assess the reaction," he remarks, "because there is a risk of toxicity that comes with this feature in terms of lobby dodging, et cetera. We want people to still be able to have fun and experiment with their perk setups and loadouts."

This latest developer update feels like a considered expansion on last week's apology regarding the team's Kill Switch system. Some players responding to the post express thanks for the clearer communication, although others say they're disappointed it took so long for action to be taken. "Actions speak louder than words," writes one YouTube commenter, "so I'll be waiting and see how it turns out by the end of the year."

Check our updated Dead by Daylight killer tier list to see who's strong right now, and be sure to keep an eye on the latest DBD codes for any additional freebies.

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