Behaviour Interactive's Dead by Daylight is as popular as ever, and is fast approaching its 5th anniversary. With a long life ahead of it, Dead by Daylight has already detailed its Year 6 plans, including new content, continual visual updates, and other game improvements. Part of the reason the game has remained so popular has been due to its dedicated fanbase. Even more, a large part of the passionate fanbase for Dead by Daylight identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community, something that the developers have recognized.
In many places, Pride Month is celebrated in June each year to uplift and highlight the LGBTQ+ community. To help celebrate with its LGBTQ+ players and allies, Dead by Daylight revealed its plans for this Pride Month. Players can activate a special Rainbow Flag Charm for Killers and Survivors, there will be special livestreams during Pride Month with Twitch streamers to benefit The Trevor Project, and Behaviour will be making a donation itself to a local organization called Project10. Most importantly, Behaviour Interactive addressed a big request from the community to add LGBTQ+ representation into the game, and the way the developers plan to do it is admirable.
Dead by Daylight Is Partnering With an LGBTQ+ Organization
The developers for Dead by Daylight know that representation in games is incredibly important, and have continually made an effort to make the game more diverse. In its Pride 2021 post, Behaviour announced a collaboration with GaymerX, a non-profit dedicated to uplifting LGBTQ+ voice and stories in games and the gaming industry. The purpose of this partnership is to figure out the best ways to add LGBTQ+ characters or stories into the world of Dead by Daylight. While it's clear that an LGBTQ+ character isn't coming anytime soon, it is great that Behaviour is being transparent about the process and actively looking toward the future.
Further, the fact that Behaviour Interactive has taken the initiative to seek out guidance from an LGBTQ+ organization is a marvel. Sometimes to avoid responsibility for a lack of diversity in games, a developer might say they don't know how to do it "properly," and are afraid of community backlash if they make a mistake. This can end up being an excuse just to not add diversity to a game at all, or to not make those types of games to begin with. Behaviour doesn't want to shoddily add a gay character to Dead by Daylight and call it a day, but it wants to listen to professionals that are knowledgeable in the area that can help "do it right."
There obviously multiple ways Behaviour Interactive can incorporate LGBTQ+ characters or themes into Dead by Daylight, though actual characters are probably the biggest focus. Numerous identities could be chosen to be represented, and nothing would be too out of place. Pansexual characters have appeared in games from Apex Legends to Dragon Age to Borderlands, for example. There is just one thing that would need to be addressed, and one big reason the collaboration with GaymerX is beneficial.
Horror Makes Adding an LGBTQ+ Character Tricky
Surprising to none, the asymmetrical horror game Dead by Daylight features some dark themes. The whole premise of the game is about a malevolent otherworldly Entity stealing away Survivors and Killers to compete in Trials over and over again. There are often gruesome and violent deaths that cause certain characters to attract the Entity's attention, which could pose a problem if Behaviour wanted to make a character LGBTQ+. The benefit of Behaviour consulting with GaymerX about new LGBTQ+ characters is that they hopefully won't fall into harmful representation tropes.
It would be unfortunate if the introduction of Dead by Daylight's first LGBTQ+ character was rooted in homophobia or a queerphobic attack. In this regard, horror games like Dead by Daylight would just need to be a bit more cautious when thinking of stories for LGBTQ+ characters. The LGBTQ+ community is familiar with homophobia and other types of trauma relating to their identities, making it the sole backstory for a character wouldn't be well received. Hopefully, the collaboration with GaymerX will bring about characters that the overall Dead by Daylight community would be interested to play, and characters that players can invest in.
The fact that Behaviour Interactive is seeking help make great LGBTQ+ characters in a respectful way is amazing. It can even be an example for other companies and developers if they want to do the same. Oftentimes, gamers have to look toward LGBTQ+ indie games for representation, but more and more AAA studios are looking to add diverse stories to their games, too. Dead by Daylight's LGBTQ+ community, and allies, have plenty to look forward to this Pride Month, and this collaboration has been some great news.