Dead by Daylight embraces its Japanese community and the country's horror lineage
3.24.2025
By Alicia Haddick, Contributor
For those less familiar, Dead by Daylight’s appeal comes from its asymmetrical horror multiplayer gameplay that has remained engaging to players even nine years on from its initial release. One player takes the role of a killer that attempts to hunt down the four survivors, who aim to avoid detection and repair generators scattered around the map that power the exit gates they must open in order to escape. Once a killer hunts down a player, they must impale them on sacrificial hooks around the level in order to win, with their goal being to stop the survivors from fleeing their grasp.
The game has evolved drastically over the years, with over 60 killers and survivors introduced to the experience since its initial 2016 release, each offering their own abilities and perks that complicate and augment the path to victory. This is all before we even mention the various story updates, levels, and general gameplay refinements the game has enjoyed over the years. This regular stream of updates has kept players engaged and even fostered a competitive tournament scene where the best players in the game compete for glory.
Tadaima Japan (literally meaning I’m Home, Japan) was held on March 12 in Tokyo, serving as Dead by Daylight’s second official Japanese fan event and the first in six years. It comes as the game continues to enjoy phenomenal success in a country where international titles can often struggle to find steady ground. This success was no fluke, however; catapulted to viral success after catching the attention of Japanese live streamers and the country's large contingent of horror fans. The game in turn has embraced its admitted inspirations, made apparent in a plethora of original characters and story updates as well as its collaborations with IP like Castlevania, The Ring, Attack on Titan, works by famed Japanese artist Junji Ito, and, most recently, Tokyo Ghoul.
Japan is now one of the regions with the largest active Dead by Daylight player base in the world, but its success comes down to far more than just throwing in a few Japanese-inspired characters and recognizable IPs. This fan event is just one example of how the team has catered to a Japanese audience and adapted the experience of and around the title to this burgeoning region. The Tadaima Japan event gave Japanese fans a rare opportunity not only to celebrate a game they love but to meet Behavior Interactive’s Mathieu Côté and Dave Richard, see rare concept art for the game, and participate in a panel discussion that allowed these fans a rare chance to ask the developers about the game.
“Horror is universal, and horror culture is particularly strong in Japan, and from the beginning, we felt their spark for Dead by Daylight,” explains Côté, Head of Partnerships at Behavior Interactive. The event itself led to some unique interactions with fans who have been impacted by the game.
“There have been many [memorable interactions from the event], but two stand out in my mind,” Côté said. “We had the chance to reconnect with one creator who designed a beloved Outfit from the game: The Elephant Clown.
"He came to see us and explained that after the success of the Outfit in-game, he went on to pursue games as a career and has now worked with many gaming companies, creating concepts for them. He was so grateful; it was an emotionally charged moment that I’ll cherish for a long time. [We also] got to reconnect in person with some beloved Fog Whisperers. One of them, Velcra, has been a supporter from the beginning, and he shared pictures from his Dead by Daylight-themed wedding with us. He even met his wife playing the game!”
One particular factor in the game’s Japanese success is embracing the ways in which Japanese audiences engage with media they love far beyond what’s on screen. Take a walk down the busiest streets in major cities like Tokyo, and it’ll be impossible to avoid copious merchandise and collaborations for the biggest anime and media of the moment. Sometimes, this merchandise is simple and obvious, like a physical copy of the game or movie on store shelves. Japan continues to enjoy physical media at a higher rate than other countries even as it increasingly embraces digital distribution, a factor in Dead by Daylight receiving numerous Japanese physical releases over the years.
Beyond that, though, Japan’s love for the ephemeral extends to pop-up stores with exclusive merchandise and even limited-time cafe menus that allow hardcore fans to immerse themselves in the world of a series they love. Other international success stories like Apex Legends have earned support in the country by turning initial interest in their game into long-term relevance by embracing these unique aspects of Japanese fandom. Nessie is a near-inescapable mascot for the game, bringing fans out to the streets to snap photos with the elusive creature at any pop-up event where they appear, often with acrylic standees of their favorite character in tow!
Fans will carry keychains on their bags, both as a status symbol for fellow fans and to bring a touch of their personality to their outfit. Dead by Daylight currently has a cafe event ongoing right now with the aptly named Entity Cafe, and in the past, it has run numerous pop-up stores offering Japan-only merchandise. A cute chibi plushie or anime-inspired artwork of survivors may at first seem like a vast departure from the grimdark tone of the game itself. Still, in a country where everyone of all ages has some sort of plush mascot or keychain on their person at any one time, it’s an adorable way to commemorate your love for the game beyond a digital skin.
And they are very cute.
"I think what sets Japan apart is its fandom culture. In Japan, oshi is used to describe a huge fan," notes Côté. “I absolutely love all the gaming-adjacent opportunities that we’ve had the chance of being involved with in Japan. Our Japanese community, our merchandising director, and many people on our team are involved in that and offer support. I sadly haven’t had a chance to visit the Entity Café myself, but our collaborators did, and it looked amazing!”
Of course, none of this would matter if players grew tired of the game itself, or if future updates were unappealing to this growing Japanese fanbase. This has been another area where the team has been careful to consider Japanese audience expectations when developing new content. We've seen this in new killers and survivors over the years, from original updates inspired by Japanese history to direct collaborations with classics of horror cinema. Sadako from The Ring is one such example, a natural fit for the world of Dead by Daylight despite the challenges the team faced in adapting her to the gameplay of the title.
American films that have made the jump into the game’s Black Fog include Nightmare on Elm Street and Alien, whose monsters and slasher villains bring a more direct sort of confrontation compared to the more psychological and melancholic terror of The Ring. In the original film, Sadako only appears on-screen in the final moments of the film; her powers and the threat of her ability to kill are far more intimidating than any direct appearance she could make.
In bringing the character to the game, the Killer’s psychological terror is translated into telepathic powers, striking fear even as a ghost and without coming into direct contact with players. Of course, it takes more than a good idea to make for an effective killer. This required working with Japanese licensors to make this idea a reality, overcoming language barriers and protective copyright holders to achieve their goal.
“It's been an honor and an absolute pleasure to work with so many owners of Japanese legendary horror licenses,” explained Côté. The game’s success has made Japanese license holders willing to work with the team to bring new characters into the game, and Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul is just the latest example of this.
“Why not?” Côté replies when asked about the decision to add Kaneki to the game. “Tokyo Ghoul is insanely cool! It’s gory, violent, and we thought its dark themes and gritty aesthetic fit so well.
“The reception to [the Tokyo Ghoul update] in Japan has been incredible; I think we’ve managed to surprise players with this one! We've been told countless times that fans were not expecting Kaneki to be a Killer, so it’s very fulfilling to know that after almost nine years, we still keep our fans on their toes! It was very important when bringing Kaneki to Dead by Daylight to be as truthful as possible to who he was in the manga and anime, and I think we’ve introduced some interesting gameplay mechanics with his kagune [weapon]. What sets apart Kaneki as a killer is his speed and movement, which are unmatched.”
Dead by Daylight is a game that many didn't quite expect to become the global success it is now, and the team certainly didn’t plan for it. Yet the endurance of the game in all regions has come from its strong fundamental ideas coupled with the variety the team has injected, allowing it to constantly grow, whether that comes from embracing its community or finding new ways to integrate the canon of horror classics from every genre into its gaming tapestry.
Most importantly, it comes from a love of horror in all its forms, and it’s this element that's allowed the game to resonate. With Japanese horror in particular, the team took direct inspiration for story chapters like The Shattered Bloodline, and the response from fans has cultivated a strong and dedicated competitive scene and even helped the game make Asahi TV’s fan-voted ranking of the top 100 games of all time! It perhaps shouldn’t be a surprise that a country where horror has a lineage going back to the Edo period and beyond with folktales of the yokai has embraced Dead by Daylight's supernatural flair and terror, but it’s no fluke the team created a game so successful they’ve been able to return to catch up with Japanese fans all these years later.
Only through true appreciation for a horror lineage can you achieve the sustained adoration that Dead by Daylight has enjoyed in Japan, even if that sometimes manifests itself in a rather delicious cake that looks more gory than edible. And as Côté was happy to emphasize, “We have many more surprises in store!”
Dead by Daylight is available on Epic Games Store, along with its most recent chapter, Doomed Course.