Alan Wake Is Coming to Dead by Daylight

09.01.2024 - 20:41 / ign.com / Alan Wake / Matthew Porretta

Alan Wake is coming to survival horror multiplayer game Dead by Daylight in a collaboration that might actually be canon to the Alan Wake universe.

Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive announced Alan Wake is coming to the game on January 30 as a playable Survivor, though a time-limited public test is currently ongoing on Steam.

A canon explanation for Alan Wake's appearance in Dead by Daylight was given too, but it's unclear whether this is really an official part of the universe or just a fun nod to its style (though IGN has reached out to Alan Wake developer Remedy Entertainment for comment).

Alan Wake is an author in his own games who, at the beginning of the original, wakes up with amnesia as a story he doesn't remember writing seemingly becomes real. The franchise also involves something called the Dark Place, where Alan Wake finds himself trapped at a certain point. The explanation for his appearance in Dead by Daylight leans into both of these ideas.

"As a prisoner, Alan Wake is fighting tooth and nail to escape," the announcement said, "However, his attempt to write his way to freedom led him straight into the thralls of The Entity, trading one Dark Place for another."

It even provided an excerpt from an in-world lost manuscript: "As I searched for a way out, for a little light in the dark, I recalled a script I wrote for Night Springs about a place engulfed in fog. As those memories poured back, the same fog surrounded me. Once again, I find myself in an unfamiliar place — trapped. I need to find a way out. I don’t know why, but I know rewriting that script is key."

Alan Wake voice actor Matthew Porretta also voices the character in Dead by Daylight, while the model is based on the likeness of actor Ilkka Villi, who plays Alan during the franchise’s live action scenes.

The update includes more than just Alan Wake though. A limited-time modifier called Lights Out is available in Trials, letting players experience the usual gameplay but with several of the familiar key tools removed.

Dead by Daylight isn't afraid to pull in some horror icons. Chucky, Alien, Pyramid Head and more have all made an appearance, alongside bigger collaborations like one with Stranger Things, The Ring, Saw, and... Nicolas Cage.

In our 9/10 review, IGN said: "After almost five years, Dead by Daylight has grown into an incredible slasher film simulator, and the best asymmetrical multiplayer game around."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.