The box. They opened it. He came. And it seems as quickly as he came, Pinhead will soon be leaving the Fog. Developer Behaviour Interactive confirmed earlier this week that Dead by Daylight’s Hellraiser collaboration DLC will be leaving the in-game store on April 4. This means that Pinhead, AKA the Cenobite, will no longer be available for purchase in the game. Current owners of the DLC will keep the character and all their unlocked content for him, but newcomers will be out of luck when it comes to playing as Clive Barker’s most iconic creation.
Pinhead’s departure marks something of a watershed moment for the king of asymmetric horror games. Dead by Daylight’ s stranglehold on the genre was established, in part, because of its massive library of licensed characters and crossover collabs. And while Pinhead may not be the first character to leave the game’s roster, his departure sets a troubling precedent for long-time fans of the game.
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Pinhead is Not the First Killer to Leave the Game
One thing must be made perfectly clear: Pinhead leaving Dead by Daylight almost certainly has nothing to do with Behaviour Interactive or its handling of the game/character itself. The removal of the chapter is likely related to license changing hands behind the scenes. The Hellraiser franchise has had a strange, complicated history when it comes to its legal ownership. Right after Pinhead made his debut in-game, the franchise had another ownership shakeup, which is what seemingly prompted this turn of events. The new license holder simply isn't interested in continuing the collaboration as it currently exists.
Removal of any content is sad, but this isn’t exactly new ground for Dead by Daylight. The much-loved Stranger Things chapter left the game for a significant period of time after Netflix pulled the license from Behaviour. Two survivors, a fan-favorite killer, and an entire map gone in the blink of an eye; pound for pound, it was a much bigger loss of content than the recent Hellraiser departure. Granted, Stranger Things eventually made a return to the game, but it’s unclear whether Hellraiser will experience a similar stroke of luck.
The Stranger Things chapter was, by any estimation, a rousing success for Dead By Daylight. It featured a hugely popular modern IP with two survivors, an indoor map excellent for stealth killers, and the Demogorgon, which quickly became something of a community darling, affectionately referred to by fans as “Demodoggo.” Hellraiser, in comparison, has less going for it. The chapter launched with just Pinhead; no map and no survivor. And unlike the Demogorgon, Pinhead has never been a terribly popular killer in the community. There’s always a possibility he returns to the game, but all things considered, the current outlook is grim for the Cenobite’s future prospects in the fog.
Could Pinhead's Departure Spell Trouble for Other Licensed Killers?
The removal of Pinhead reinforces something the community has feared since the removal of Stranger Things years ago; the fragility of Dead by Daylight’s license deals. This is now the second chapter that’s been removed due to licenses expiring, so a precedent has officially been set. Crossover characters are no longer guaranteed to be in the game indefinitely, and that does not bode well for a number of the other properties that have made their way into the Fog.
Certain license holders very clearly have a strong positive relationship with Behaviour. SAW instantly comes to mind with the plethora of cosmetics and tome lore players have received for the Pig and Tapp. But when it comes to characters from the Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street chapters, things start getting a little dicey. The former has received precious few cosmetics since it launched way back in October 2016 and the latter has never received any cosmetics, with the most work that’s done on the characters being Freddy’s many reworks and Quentin’s face overhaul to make him look less terrifying.
While a lack of cosmetics doesn’t necessarily mean much on the surface, it could be an indicator of a potentially strained working relationship between the license holders and Behaviour. Many in the community have speculated this to be the case, particularly with Freddy, as his franchise rights are currently held by Wes Craven’s estate. Craven created the Springwood Slasher in 1984 and famously did not care for the 2010 remake version of the character who made it to Dead By Daylight.
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None of this is meant as speculation that Freddy, Myers, or any of the other licensed killers are going anywhere. That said, Pinhead’s removal proves that the Stranger Things incident was not a one-off. It happened once, it happened again, and it may happen in the future now that the precedent is there.
Ultimately, none of this affects the average DBD player too much. Behaviour has always given the DBD community ample notice when these things happen. Everyone has plenty of time to get into the shop and purchase the characters before they’re no longer available, and even after the fact, it’s not like any of the removed content has no longer been available. Players with Pinhead will still be able to play with him after he leaves the store, after all.
Still, Pinhead leaving the game is absolutely a sad day for Dead By Daylight, and it could very well be an ominous foreshadowing of events to come, though it could just as easily be a simple case of one license holder altering Behaviour’s original deal.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 70 /100 Critics Rec: 47%
- Released
- June 14, 2016
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Behaviour Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Behaviour Interactive
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
WHERE TO PLAY
Ever wished to play as one of the characters from your favorite horror movies? Dead by Daylight is a 1v4 multiplayer game that draws from all corners of the horror world from a powerful slasher to a terrifying paranormal entity.
Choose between playing an unstoppable Killer and one of 4 Survivors trying to evade a gruesome death. Each character has their own deep progression system and plenty of unlockables that can be customized to fit your personal strategy. Work together to escape, or stalk and sacrifice every Survivor.
This Edition of Dead by Daylight gives you access to a roster of 7 Killers (The Trapper, The Hillbilly, The Wraith, The Nurse, The Hag, The Huntress and The Doctor) and 9 Survivors (Meg Thomas, Claudette Morel, Jake Park, Dwight Fairfield, Ace Visconti, Nea Karlsson, Bill Overbeck, Feng Min and David King). It also includes two cosmetic add-ons packed with outfits for various characters.
- Cross Save
- yes
- Franchise
- Dead by Daylight
- Number of Players
- 5
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Stadia, Switch, Mobile
- Genre(s)
- Horror, Survival
- How Long To Beat
- N/A
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- File Size Xbox Series
- 51 GB (October 2022)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
