Will Stranger Things Return to Dead by Daylight?

Dead by Daylight's Stranger Things chapter has come to a close. But will we ever see Hawkins and its selected inhabitants return? Let's take a look at the success of the DLC and speculate whether or not we could possibly see the Upside Down return at some point in the future.

Will Stranger Things Return to Dead by Daylight cover

After the popular Netflix show, Stranger Things waved goodbye to Dead by Daylight and the final sale for the DLC came to a close, there was only one question left to ask. Will it ever come back? And if so, when? Right now, there is no indication as to whether or not it will, but we can certainly speculate. Using information from other games as well as taking a look at the timings of similar content removal, there might just be an answer to this lingering question.

A Huge Success

First off, the show is a huge hit. Not just its first season, either. Season 3 apparently broke Netflix records with over 40.7 million households watching the new season merely within four days of its release. Its popularity has brought it to our video game screens not just as a DLC for the survival horror, but also in a crossover with SMITE. At one point, Telltale Games were developing an entire instalment based on the show. This was cancelled, however, when Telltale originally closed its doors.

So, why did the Netflix series leave the survival horror in the first place? The short answer is that Behaviour Interactive’s license ran out. This means that they could no longer sell the DLC or its cosmetics. Players that previously bought the content, however, would still get access to the characters and outfits. It’s quite a shame to see it go so soon, especially considering that those with the DLC can’t obtain any new cosmetics for Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington or The Demogorgon.

Goodbye Forever?

Now for the big question. Will we ever see it return? In the F.A.Q for the Last Chance Sale, Behaviour Interactive made it pretty clear that they’re discontinuing the chapter. They have reportedly permanently sealed off Hawkins Lab. As the sale’s name denotes, this was our last chance to grab the characters. In this F.A.Q, the developers did not rule out the possibility of its return. Then again, they haven’t discontinued a chapter before, so it’s difficult to say.

Nancy and Jonathan's latest cosmetics from merely five months ago

Nancy and Jonathan’s latest cosmetics from merely five months ago

This chapter has also been removed from the “chapters” section of the official website. This is a little bit worrying. It isn’t even displayed with a “discontinued” or a “limited” tile. It’s almost as if it was never in the game. While Behaviour Interactive might not be giving any hints on the future of its Stranger Things crossover with Dead by Daylight, there is one game that does.

As previously stated, SMITE did have a limited-time event in collaboration with Netflix. It introduced skins based on characters such as Eleven and Hopper for the different playable Gods and Goddesses. The skins in this game, however, do not have a limited label. In SMITE terms, limited means that skins will never come back. Instead, they have an exclusive label. This actually does mean that the skins will come back and be available for purchase at some point in the future.

Similarly, their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles limited-time event had its exclusive skins return to the battleground of the Gods for purchase later on. If SMITE can bring back content from these shows, then what’s to say that Dead by Daylight can’t at some point down the line? Strangely enough, the Stranger Things 3 video game was also removed from Xbox Game Pass on August 31st. A month later, SMITE had its content removed on September 21st. Another two months later and Dead by Daylight has its content removed on November 17th.

We'll miss you, Demogorgon

We’ll miss you, Demogorgon

Season Four’s Potential Impact

It seems like a strange coincidence that Netflix has pulled the plug on access to a lot of this video game content for one of their most popular TV shows more or less around the same time. It’s almost as if they’re going to wait for the right time to bring back this content when interest in the series will surely peak once again.

Saying this, the fourth season of Stranger Things is set to release in the summer of 2022. This would be a great opportunity to bring back our friends from Hawkins along with their cosmetics. Currently, there doesn’t seem to be any reason why the license cannot be renewed at a later date. It would be a huge shame to seal this chapter off forever, especially considering its popularity.

For now, though, it’s best we assume that the chapter will not be returning any time soon. I’d hesitate to get anyone’s hopes up, but with any luck, we will get the chance to enjoy the DLC at some point again in the future. If you haven’t already watched Stranger Things or tried Dead by Daylight, I recommend you look into them. You might just find your next favourite TV show or video game, the latter being available on all major platforms now.

6 Comments

  1. Avatar photo

    Oh WHY DOES THIS HAPPENING TO ME

    Reply
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      I just started watching stranger things AGAIN and I didn’t like it back then, now I’m loving it and I NEED THOSE CHARACTERS!!

      Reply
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        I really hope that they can make a return at some point soon. If they’re not announced to return sometime soon after July 1st, then I wouldn’t hold your breath on this one I’m afraid.

      • Avatar photo

        So what your saying is i can just get rid of DBD then right? Other characters dont interest me at all. 2010 Freddy? Ew. Ghostface? Nah. Myers? Nope. Any of the general killers? Naw. The ring. Cringe.
        Pin head? Nah he isnt even a killer in the films….. literally Stranger Things was the only reason i got this boring wannabe horror game with trash balancing…. great…..

      • Avatar photo

        Actually, there have been some pretty solid leaks recently that say Stranger Things is returning as well as a second Stranger Things chapter. I wrote an article on this recently, feel free to check it out.

      • Avatar photo

        ST4 is the only reason i got DBD and i cant even get it….. what a waste.

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