What do Texas Chainsaw Massacre , Resident Evil , andDungeons & Dragonsall have in uncouth ? They ’re all represented in Behaviour Interactive ’s asymmetrical revulsion game , Dead by Daylight . Now , another franchise is link that eclectic roster , and it ’s a big one for a certain generation of repulsion fan .
Though it was tease only last class , Five Nights at Freddy’swill finally join theDead by Daylightclub . Ahead of its official announcement at PAX East 2025 , Digital Trends spoke with the Dead by Daylight squad about the creative process of incorporate Five Nights at Freddy ’s into its vicious multiplayer playground and what the squad has in store for the futurity .
Daylight meets Five Nights
At face value , the coaction seems like a slam dunk shot . When call for why Behaviour Interactive imagine now was a good time to partner up with Five Nights at Freddy ’s , the caput of partnership , Mathieu Corte , explained that there was never a forged prison term . He notes that licensing conversations can often be “ super delicate , ” but the team is happy that it “ come up a moment where every star aligned , where [ we ] could bring Five Nights at Freddy ’s toDead by Daylight . ”
As a part of the collaboration , the team announce that Springtrap would be make believe his way to the plot as a playable killer whale . At first glance , this was a snatch of a surprise , commit that the team could have chosen other iconic characters to peck , including Freddy himself . When asked about that choice , gameplay designer Jason Guzzo explained the team ’s reasoning : “ He ’s the great bad from the Five Nights at Freddy ’s universe . His inclusion body inDead by Daylight isactually the first time players get to play as Springtrap in a video game . ”
When you ’re a kid , you ’re not chasing your friend with a knife , hopefully …
Guzzo says that this would give players “ the FNAF ( Five Nights at Freddy ’s ) experience ” while staying true toDead by Daylight . But creating that experience was still dispute , given how both games play out differently . This is reflected in the approaching map , Freddy Fazbear ’s Pizza , which is the central localization in the FNAF franchise .
Guzzo enjoin that the team adopt inhalation from various sources , including game , movies , and fan - made layouts created using in - game screenshots . The team also looked at the 2023 film ’s take on the pizza parlor because it was “ the most everlasting edition of the map . ” Interestingly enough , Freddy Fazbear ’s Pizza was already an idealistic map forDead by Daylightdue to have a lot of tables , tight space , and the innate closed circuit you ’d notice in a kitchen .
“ It kind of builds itself , ” Guzzo says . “ That kind of environment is right for that sort of gameplay . I mean , you did it as a kid . You go to McDonald ’s and you run around with your friends , around tables , hot seat , and hide behind down bulwark where you sit . Those space are almost pre - built as DBD maps . When you ’re a minor , you ’re not chasing your friends with a knife , hopefully , but you just age everyone up , and you give somebody a arm , and it just kind of comes to the same biz . ”
Although the team did n’t go into contingent , they reassure me that the Freddy Fazbear ’s Pizza map would be fill with various Easter Eggs for fans to discover . lover of theFive Nights at Freddy ’s filmmay be aroused to hear that Matthew Lillard will repeat his use as Afton via Legendary Outfit . The team confirm his likeness , and the ( moving picture spoiler ahead ) Yellow Rabbit outfit he put on at the close of the 2023 motion-picture show will be a part of the Legendary Outfit . On top of that , Lillard recorded his own voice over for the update , Afton say . This was to assist create an authentic experience for the player . Springtrap will have other skins players can fit , but it ’s undecipherable what they ’ll be .
What’s next for Dead by Daylight
Five Nights at Freddy ’s aside , theDead by Daylightteam aims to make a folklore - inspire chapter once the FNAF content is released . After that , Behaviour Interactive will do a “ prefer Your Own Chapter Adventure ” to finish off yr 10 of DBD . If that sounds conversant , it ’s because it ’s heavily inspired by the iconic “ select Your Own Adventure ” books that ran from 1979 to 1998 .
With the help of the community , Behaviour Interactive will be crafting both a Killer and a Survivor together through a serial of questions that will be asked , such as whether the Killer should be supernatural - based or someone rooted in reality .
Corte acknowledges that this idea is ambitious , but the process will be similar to the team ’s usual creative process . Behavior Interactive has want to make Modern playable characters with the community for some time now . Even though the team does n’t have many point of citation on properly navigating this , they are convinced it ’ll be a fun and lengthy process .
With all that Behaviour Interactive has planned forDead by Daylight , the multiplayer juggernaut seems to be in a levelheaded creative place . With the Five Nights at Freddy ’s quislingism , folklore - inspired chapter , and the “ Choose Your Own Adventure ” mental process the squad will take to make its latest Killer , there are a lot of reasons to plunk in again right around the corner .
