Dead By Daylight’s Cancelled Spin-Off Leaves a Huge Void to Be Filled

Dead by Daylight has staked its claim as one of the staple horror games of the current generation, but that couldn’t stop its planned spin-off from ending up on the cutting room floor. Although Dead by Daylight remains a popular title among many horror fans, the attempted departure from its asymmetrical formula will never be seen.

Back in May, during the game’s anniversary stream, a spin-off titled Project T was announced to the community. The game was teased as a PvE game that would be a bold step away from what made Dead by Daylight such a success. It can be exciting for franchises to forego their usual approach, but Project T was apparently an unsatisfactory attempt. After receiving feedback from playtesters and performing an internal risk assessment, Behaviour Interactive ultimately came to the difficult decision to cancel Project T. Now that the masses will never see what Project T had in store, the Dead by Daylight franchise has a gaping hole that will hopefully be filled sooner than later.

Dead By Daylight and PvE Could Be a Match Made in Heaven

Branching Out From Asymmetrical Multiplayer

Eight years after its launch, Dead by Daylight has been the top dog of asymmetrical horror titles. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th: The Game, and Evil Dead: The Game have all tried to recapture the success that Dead by Daylight has had, but none have been able to properly compete. With its blend of original lore and crossovers with pop culture heavy-hitters, Dead by Daylight has carved out a special place for itself in horror gaming.

However, there is plenty of potential for Dead by Daylight to branch out into other types of games. A recent spin-off, The Casting of Frank Stone, is a perfect example of this. As a collaboration with Supermassive Games, The Casting of Frank Stone showcases the Dead by Daylight universe in a completely new light, something Project T could have done. The biggest loss of this cancelation is that there is now no PvE in sight for Dead By Daylight. Much of the game was kept under wraps, but Project T was a compelling concept. The co-op shooter aimed to pit characters against monsters known as The Thrall. They were teased to come in many shapes and forms, leaving any potential character designs and horrors now forever a mystery.

When it comes to Dead by Daylight, the game can really excel at horrifying character design. The Unknown is one of the game’s most recent original killers, and it’s a disturbing, contorted sight. Placing players in a PvE co-op game where each unique form of The Thrall is more terrifying than the next is a missed opportunity. Asymmetrical can be scary enough, but the beauty of PvE gameplay is that it’s not as easy to predict the moves of an enemy. Over time, players can figure out what the player taking on the role of Killer might do next, but PvE makes everything more tense, and that would only benefit Dead by Daylight.

Project T’s Cancelation Spells Trouble For Dead By Daylight’s Ambitious Goals

It’s clear that Behaviour Interactive is wanting to expand the lore of Dead by Daylight in fresh ways. The Casting of Frank Stone may have received mixed reception, but it was an interesting attempt at telling a new story within the canon, even if Behaviour Interactive didn’t outright handle its development. Dead by Daylight commands the co-op horror space, but being able to do so with PvE gameplay is likely to be even more appealing.

With each new update and crossover featured in Dead by Daylight, the game will continue to grow, but getting to see Behaviour interactive do something non-asymmetrical would be great. Until an official PvE mode hopefully comes to Dead by Daylight, Project T will sadly live on as an example of what could have been.