Everyone’s favourite possessed dolls Chucky, or Charles Lee Ray, and Tiffany are leaving Dead by Daylight. Another victim of rights issues, the iconic murderous Good Guy doll is departing from the game, following in the footsteps of Pinhead and Michael Myers.
As fans of horror movies and games everywhere know, rights issues can be a right pain. In fact, the beloved DBD clone Friday the 13th: The Game was struck from sale entirely due to the massive rights hell behind the iconic slasher flick.
For Dead by Daylight, a live-service multiplayer game that’s constantly borrowing other IP’s flagship characters, these rights often become an issue. In a discussion with IGN, though, Dead but Daylight developer Behavior explained that lost horror collabs will “continue to have an open invitation to join (or rejoin).
Behaviour explained that the “goal is always to keep licenses” in Dead by Daylight, but it’s often harder than fans expect. The studio explained that Chucky is departing from the game “despite our best efforts”, hinting that the developer has tried to argue for the character to stay within the horror game.
In the case of Chucky, Pinhead, and Michael Myers, Behaviour explains that “it wasn’t possible to retain them” for players. This doesn’t mean that every license is set to disappear from the game, but some license holders are more stingy than others.
For players that have already purchased Chucky or the alternate Tiffany skin, the characters and all of their associated cosmetics will still be fully usable in public lobbies. However, the character’s removal means that new players won’t be able to pick him up.
In the past, this has meant that the prominence of removed characters dwindled over time. However, they aren’t outright ignored by Behavior. This means that Chucky will continue to receive bug fixes, balance tweaks, and more despite their absence from the in-game store.
By the time of his removal, Chucky will have only been present in Dead by Daylight for three years. The iconic horror villain is one of the most unique killers in the game, and hearing both Brad Dourif and Jennifer Tilly return to voice the killer dolls was a treat for longtime fans. Unfortunately, as with anything live service, the end was always coming. Hopefully, with Behavior wanting the dolls to return in the future, the rights holders will play ball.
