Dead by Daylight Reveals First LGBTQIA2+ Character

Download the Archives' Tome 11: Devotion Press Kit

Download the Archives' Tome 11: Devotion: Trailer

Montréal, Canada—April 27, 2022— Now boasting more than 50 million players globally, Dead by Daylight’s undeniable success is due in large part to its active and dedicated community, including its lively LGBTQIA2+ players. Many fans longed for more representation within the game and expressed the need to identify with their favorite characters and they will be thrilled to dig through the 11^th Tome of the game’s Archives: DEVOTION. Available on April 28^th, the new Tome will uncover memories of The Twins as well as Survivor David King, revealing his struggle to come to terms with his homosexuality. On top of fetching the much-expected novelties in terms of collections and outfits, DEVOTION also marks a new departure for Dead by Daylight, bringing a completely new twist to the narrative direction of the Archives.

Since his introduction in Dead by Daylight, Survivor David King quickly became a fan-favorite. Currently occupying a comfortable top ten position as one of the realm’s most-played Survivor, David is a hot-tempered ruffian with a penchant for a good scrap, whose time as a debt collector brought pain both internal and external. While a fragment of his pre-Fog life was previously revealed, there remained much to uncover. Throughout DEVOTION, fans will discover, that part of his personal struggles revolve around accepting his own identity and sexuality. David’s memories will take players in a pub, where a conversation about romantic relationships leads him to speak more about his personal life, including a past boyfriend.

Bringing inclusivity and representation to life in a meaningful way within Dead by Daylight’s storytelling has been a focus for the development team over the last few years. Creating content devoid of negative tropes, versus simply checking a box was the creators’ priority. To achieve this, the team collaborated with GaymerX, a consulting organization dedicated to providing best practices for integration of LGBTQIA2+ themes into established games. The non-profit precisely offered support around in-game content and how to approach diversity stories without falling into harmful representation.

“Representation of diversity in entertainment matters, so it was important for us to take time and to surround ourselves with experts in order to do things properly”, explains Dave Richard, Creative Director, Dead by Daylight. “We’re very humbled that Dead by Daylight has developed into a space where players from various communities around the world feel free to be themselves. We're committed to providing fun and diverse content to our fans, and we thank them for continuously sharing their insight on the themes that resonate with them.” ​

“After working with the Dead by Daylight team over the past year on learning best practices and helping them identify spaces in their existing narratives to integrate LGBTQIA2+ stories, we're excited to see the first piece of content become available for players," says Brian Kunde, GaymerX's consulting lead and Operations Director.

“Working with a game team so dedicated to bringing a queer narrative to life in their game has been a gratifying and inspiring experience,” added Katie Kaitchuck, Executive Director, GaymerX.

“Dead by Daylight is a reflection of its community. Our players have expressed the need for better representation, and today our message is that we hear you, and we are excited to bring these stories to life”, shares Tara Brannigan, Director, Player Experience, Dead by Daylight. “Video games are for everybody, and everyone should get to see themselves as the hero of their favorite game, regardless of their culture, community, gender or orientation.” ​

A New Narrative Direction for The Archives

As the game content is in constant evolution, DEVOTION also marks a new approach for Dead by Daylight’s Archives, bringing a completely new twist to the narrative direction. While The Observer remains at the center of the storytelling, players will discover that he has abandoned his tower and is nowhere to be found. As they try to figure out what happened to him, they’ll uncover left-behind recordings through which they’ll access his memories and stories.

New Tome, New Outfits, New Collections

Among fans’ favorite features coming with each Tome of the Archives are the new outfits available within the Rift. In DEVOTION, players will be able to unlock The New World Stowaway outfit, for The Twins as well as the Night on the Town outfit for David King. The Tome also comes with a new and a returning collection. Among other inclusions, The Spring Ensembles Collection features the Blooming Delusion Very Rare mix-and-match outfit for The Artist, the Baseball Series Very Rare mix-and-match outfit for Jonah Vasquez as well as the Organic Monstrosity Very Rare mix-and-match outfit for The Blight. The Urban Art Collection will present players with a new Very Rare outfit for Nea: The Stockholm Art Fest.

Tome 11: DEVOTION is available on April 28^th on Steam, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Epic Games Store, Windows Store, Nintendo Switch and Stadia.

About Dead by Daylight ​ ​
​Created by Behaviour Interactive, Dead by Daylight is a multiplayer action horror game of hide and seek, set in a dark fantasy and drawing from all corners of horror, where each match is a different experience. Dead by Daylight boasts more than 50 million players both globally and across all platforms. On any given day, up to 2 million players step into the Fog, whether on PC, console, or mobile. Since its release in 2016, the game has become a place where cult classic horror survives and thrives, having welcomed legends from TV, movies, and video games. For more information, please visit deadbydaylight.com.

About Behaviour™ Interactive 

Behaviour Interactive was founded in 1992 and is Canada’s largest independent game developer and publisher. Celebrating its 30^th year, and with more than 900 full-time employees, the studio has enjoyed immense success with its original IPDead by Daylight, which now has more than 50 million players around the world and across all platforms. Behaviour holds co-developer credits for some of the gaming industry’s largest titles (such as Assassin’s Creed, Gears 5 and Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 & 2) and developed an unparalleled, award-winning culture within the gaming industry. Winner of Deloitte Canada’s Enterprise Fast 15 and Best Managed Company awards and listed one of the Best Places To Work – Canadaby GamesIndustry.biz in 2021, Behaviour is a leading development studio, cultivating career growth and talent development within the gaming industry. Behaviour counts among its partners some of the world’s most renowned brands, including Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, and many more. For more information, visit: bhvr.com. ​

© 2015-2022 BEHAVIOUR, DEAD BY DAYLIGHT and other related trademarks and logos belong to Behaviour Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

For media inquiries and game review codes:

Liana Murphy
​Vicarious PR
​Liana@vicariouspr.com

Steven Ross
​Behaviour Interactive
​Steven.ross@bhvr.com