Dead by Daylight's co-op shooter spin-off canceled just 4 months after its first 'unsatisfactory' playtest results

Dead by Daylight's planned co-op shooter spin-off, Project T, has been canceled after a player feedback program revealed unsatisfactory results, leaving the future of the franchise's expansion uncertain.

After folding in icons from across the slasher multiverse for almost a decade, multiplayer horror Dead by Daylight was finally starting to expand its own world with a PvE four-player co-op shooter codenamed Project T that was set in the same creepy universe. That spin-off has now been scrapped before it ever saw the, err, daylight.

Behaviour Interactive, the company that owns developer Midwinter Entertainment, announced the cancelation in a social media post. "When we conceptualized Project T, we wanted to have players involved as early as possible, which led to the creation of the Insider's Program," the publisher's tweet reads. "This approach has allowed us to get very early validation on the project's core design and gameplay, which often comes much further into a game's production."

pic.twitter.com/TfIpAk06MmSeptember 17, 2024

Behaviour announced this Insider's Program less than five months ago, inviting players to have early looks at development updates, as well as occasionally playtest the shooter. Project T was set to have a group of Trespassers trapped in the Entity's realm, but unlike its uber popular dad, players would be able to fight back against monsters with guns and driveable vehicles.

"Following the playtest in July, we ran a thorough internal risk assessment from a product and commercial perspective," Behaviour's note continues. "While a number of players expressed appreciation for what they played, unfortunately, the outcome of this deep analysis yielded unsatisfactory overall results."

Like the best horror films, the publisher's announcement leaves a lot to the imagination. As both companies admit, letting players into the production process this early on is unusual, so you'd imagine Behaviour would be prepared for less-than-stellar feedback on a project that's more "a work-in-progress rather than a fully-fledged game." Maybe most of their concerns were centred around its money-making potential or lack thereof.

The news couldn't come at a more awkward time as Dead by Daylight's single player adventure game spin-off The Casting of Frank Stone, from the studio behind Until Dawn, released earlier this month to lukewarm reviews.

In the meantime, don’t miss our picks for the best horror games to play right now.