Behaviour Interactive has partnered with Japanese entertainment publisher Kadokawa on a Ringu crossover for Dead by Daylight, which should arrive next spring. Cult classic Ringu took Japanese audiences by surprise with its cursed video plot in 1998; the core concept creeped its way westward with 2002's Gore Verbinski-directed remake, The Ring. Given the iconic and terror-inducing imagery attached to the brand, Ringu seems the perfect fit for Dead by Daylight's horror icon-laden experience.
An asymmetric multiplayer title that pits Survivors against a lone Killer, Dead by Daylight burst onto the scene in the summer of 2016. It didn't take long for Behavior Interactive to start inking deals that allowed its popular online adventure to cross paths with beloved horror franchises. Halloween's Michael Myers guest-starred in an October 2016 update, for instance. The likes of Leatherface and Freddy Krueger joined the following year, with Ghost Face of Scream fame slashing his way through Survivors in 2019. Since then, Dead by Daylight players have been given the privilege to either portray or try to escape other genre figures as well, including Hellraiser antagonist Pinhead, the Stranger Things Demogorgon, and Resident Evil's Nemesis. Next year, more classic Japanese horror will enter the fray.
A new Dead by Daylight Chapter set to release in March 2022 will introduce Ringu to the asymmetric multiplayer game. In a press release, Behaviour Interactive clarified that its partnership with Kadokawa Corporation allows developers to create content based on Kōji Suzuki’s 1991 novel, Ring, and the original Hideo Nakata-directed film adaptation. Specifics regarding what exactly the Ringu crossover entails remain under lock and key, though Game Director Mathieu Côté teased the "intensely dark and troubling" Chapter will offer "a real heart-pounding experience that adds to the already high intensity" of Dead by Daylight.
Of course, Dead by Daylight's various Killers are nothing if not formidable; however, the Ringu crossover could prove the most horrifying update yet upon its launch next spring. In the months ahead, Behaviour Interactive is bound to unleash additional teasers and gameplay footage that showcase the terror that awaits players come March.
Dead by Daylight has enjoyed a long tail of success, first hitting PC in 2016 before migrating to PS4 and Xbox One consoles the following summer. Behaviour Interactive continued to spread the terror in subsequent years, with ports for Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. Updates for new-gen consoles and a recent release on the Epic Games Store ensure even more players have access to the ever-popular experience.
Dead by Daylight's Ringu crossover content is slated to go live in March 2022 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S platforms.