Stranger Things takes the cake for being the most interesting piece of licensed DLC that has ever come to Dead by Daylight. Its killer character, the Demogorgon, and its survivor characters, Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler, were received positively in terms of the Demogorgon’s fun gameplay, as well as Steve and Nancy’s competent likenesses. Its realm map, the Hawkins National Laboratory, was favored much less.
Players were relatively pleased to see Hawkins National Laboratory’s departure from Dead by Daylight after Netflix’s Stranger Things license expired, even if it was unfortunate that the DLC’s characters went along with it. Because licensing deals are finite and Netflix may not have been perceivably benefiting from Dead by Daylight holding onto the license, Stranger Things content was effectively discontinued. This may seem like a done deal, but Dead by Daylight would have infinite potential with a second Stranger Things Chapter if it was to ever have the license renewed.
The Case for Dead by Daylight to Renew Its Stranger Things License
It is unknown if Dead by Daylight has any say in reclaiming Netflix’s Stranger Things license after it has expired. This puts into perspective how fortunate Dead by Daylight is and has been in order to not only procure the licenses for characters from beloved horror media, but also to have held onto them for this long without any implication that they could be stripped from players in the near future.
Even though the asymmetrical horror game features fantastic original characters, Dead by Daylight prides itself on crossovers with the iconic likes of Michael Myers, Leatherface, Freddy Krueger, and more that would not be possible without these licensing partnerships. For example, new killer characters such as the Dredge are exciting demonstrations of what Behaviour is capable of producing on its own, but a huge draw to its player-base is the possibility of character collaborations from fan-favorite franchises.
Some fans may not even be interested in Dead by Daylight until one of their favorite franchises is included, as was likely the case when Dead by Daylight announced its first Resident Evil Chapter. This DLC introduced Nemesis, Leon S. Kennedy, and Jill Valentine from the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, and could ride the popularity of that franchise with new players interested in Dead by Daylight.
Further, a second Resident Evil Chapter was recently announced, with many leaks suspecting it is the next Chapter to release this September. Indeed, it is unfortunate that the Stranger Things license was revoked at all, particularly due to the show’s continued popularity. There is currently nothing suggesting that the Stranger Things license will be renewed, but there are now many characters Dead by Daylight could introduce to accompany the Demogorgon, Steve, and Nancy.
Characters Dead by Daylight Could Feature in a Second Stranger Things Chapter
It would make the most sense for a second Stranger Things Chapter to capitalize on the current season of the Netflix show—the biggest reason being that Dead by Daylight could then introduce Vecna as its newest killer character. Stranger Things lacks a lot of humanoid or otherwise physical enemies who could stand among Dead by Daylight’s cast of colorful killers and seem as powerful.
Vecna is a terrifying presence with the unique ability to target his victims’ traumas, which could make for exciting environmental and gameplay effects as his killer power. Vecna could have two starting skins: one as the hideous, tendril-laden figure, and another as the orderly One, formerly known as Henry Creel. Moreover, Vecna already has the perfect Mori already designed and fleshed out, as he hoists his victims into the air before snapping their limbs, breaking their jaw, and crushing their eyeballs.
No other potential killer character from Stranger Things even comes close with regard to Vecna’s adaptability. In terms of a survivor character, though, there are a ton of options Dead by Daylight could consider. Looking back at what it traditionally does, Dead by Daylight prefers to add survivor characters paired as one male and one female.
Considering that, potential canonical pairs could be Eleven and Mike Wheeler, Max Mayfield and Billy Hargrove or Lucas Sinclair, Suzie Bingham and Dustin Henderson, Robin Buckley and Eddie Munson, Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper, or a number of other character pairings. Dead by Daylight would also get the most of a renewed license by creating skins for whichever survivor characters it chose that would resemble other characters, such as how a skin for Steve changes the model to resemble Jonathan Byers.
If a second Stranger Things Chapter was ever released, it could conclude its associable content with a killer and survivor. But seeing as how Dead by Daylight’s Stranger Things DLC debuted a realm map, it would only make sense to substitute its lost Hawkins National Laboratory with another map.
Locations That Could Be Considered for a Realm Map in Dead by Daylight
Hawkins National Laboratory was an incredibly claustrophobic interior map with tight corridors and not a lot of loop potential. Hawkins was arguably killer-sided because of this, but it was also undesirable for killers who require a line of sight to either hurl a projectile or stalk survivors.
Overall, fans were decidedly pleased to see it leaving the game, and a second Stranger Things Chapter could rectify the issues players had with Hawkins. With season four still in mind, an option for a realm map in Dead by Daylight could be Vecna’s red-hued lair in the Upside Down.
Of course, the blue-hued Upside Down itself was not included in the game and could be featured in a way that is unique to other maps. The Upside Down could be represented similarly to other neighborhood maps such as Springwood’s Badham Preschool or Haddonfield’s Lampkin Lane, with the significant difference being that it could transition into the Upside Down.
This could effectively mirror the regular map but with key details being swapped or changed procedurally, such as generator, chest, and hook placement. Gameplay mid-match would be exciting with RNG deciding who benefits and who suffers a drawback. Many locations could be considered, just as many characters could be considered, as there would be a great potential opportunity for Dead by Daylight if its Stranger Things license could be renewed in the future.
Dead By Daylight is currently available on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.