Dead by Daylight teasing Hellraiser additions, removing Stranger Things DLC in November
UPDATE: Pinhead officially arrives in September.
UPDATE 18/8/21: Following its various none-too-subtle teases last week, Behaviour Interactive has made its Dead by Daylight Hellraiser collaboration official.
Hellraiser's iconic antagonist Pinhead will be joining the asymmetrical multiplayer horror as a new killer this September - following in the bloody footsteps of, among others, Halloween's Michael Myers, Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger, Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Leatherface, Saw's Amanda Young, and Scream's Ghost Face.
The character (who can be played right now via the Dead by Daylight Player Test Build on Steam) will initially be available on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Stadia, and PC, with a Dead by Daylight Mobile release expected "before the end of the year".
"Pinhead is an explorer in the further regions of experience, indulging in the limitless thrill of pleasure and pain", explains Behaviour in its official announcement. "When the puzzle box known as the Lament Configuration-a key to another dimension-is found in The Entity's realm, it's only a matter of time before it falls into curious hands. Once opened, he arrives. What comes next is sweet suffering that will spill over the realm."
ORIGINAL STORY 16/8/21: Two years after its arrival in Dead by Daylight, Stranger Things is returning to the Upside Down, with all DLC inspired by Netflix's hit show being removed from sale this November. But as Dead by Daylight starts its long goodbye to one franchise, it's preparing to say hello to another, with all signs pointing to the imminent arrival of Hellraiser in-game.
First introduced in September 2019, Dead by Daylight's Stranger Things collaboration ushered in two new survivors - Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler - alongside new killer The Demogorgon, and the Underground Complex Map.
For reasons unspecified (although almost certainly licensing-related), The Demogorgon, Nancy, and Steve - plus each characters' respective outfit cosmetics - will no longer be available for purchase in Dead by Daylight's store from 17th November.
As outlined in developer Behaviour Interactive's announcement post, anyone that owns the DLC will be able to continue using their purchases after that date, but there'll be no stay of execution for the Stranger-Things-themed Underground Complex Map, which is being permanently removed from rotation on 17th November.
Those players suddenly gripped by the desire to purchase Dead by Daylight's Stranger Things DLC collection following today's news, can get 50% off all characters and outfits starting this Wednesday, 18th August. Characters will remain discounted until 17th November, while the outfits sale ends on 8th September. Additionally, there's 60% off the Stranger Things Chapter DLC (available on Steam, Playstation, Xbox, Stadia, and Switch), plus 50% off Dead by Daylight's Stranger Things Edition until 1st September.
When one door closes, though, another opens - and it's looking increasingly likely that this particular new door will have a bunch of sadomasochistic extra-dimensional demons behind it.
Last week, Behaviour released a short teaser video featuring the number 1987 (the year of Hellraiser's release), plus a static-y glimpse of the flower seen in the films. And if that wasn't sufficient evidence, the developer has (as spotted by Polygon) posted additional clues on social media, dropping letters into Twitter images and an audio file that combined to spell the words RAISE HELL. It seems a safe bet Pinhead will be making his Dead by Daylight debut soon.