Hellraiser is coming to Dead by Daylight, but Stranger Things is leaving

By DeAngelo Epps August 17, 2021

After tons of teasing and speculation, the Dead by Daylight team finally officially announced that Hellraiser of the horror franchise bearing the same name is coming to the game. As with guest characters of the past, Hellraiser himself will likely be playable and free to use for players looking to torture poor souls unfortunate enough to come into contact with him.

We have such sights to show you! #Hellraiser… coming soon.
PTB info here 👉 https://t.co/fyZpIESRa7 pic.twitter.com/dzrfqb2DFV

— Dead by Daylight (@DeadByBHVR) August 17, 2021

Dead by Daylight is a multiplayer survival-horror title that has quickly become known for its inclusion of horror icons from various media. Recently, we’ve seen Resident Evil favorites Leon, Jill, and Nemesis added, along with many others like Ghostface, Pyramid Head, and Cheryl Mason.

On August 13, the Dead by Daylight team released the first clue at who the next guest villain was going to be with a simple static television clip. While some fans immediately guessed Hellraiser, others thought there would be a Five Nights at Freddy’s character coming. Today the former group was proved correct.

While Hellraiser is joining Dead by Daylight, Stranger Things content is leaving the game. All of Dead by Daylight‘s Stranger Things DLC is being delisted on November 17. As a final goodbye, all this DLC is currently available on sale until its removed from the game entirely.

The arrival date of the upcoming Hellraiser DLC hasn’t been shared just yet, but the team has stated that it’s coming soon. It’s currently unknown if only the title character of the horror franchise will be added or if his demonic partners will be coming along with him.

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De'Angelo Epps is a gaming writer passionate about the culture, communities, and industry surrounding gaming. His work ranges…

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Inside the unlikely Final Fantasy spinoff that time forgot

King Regis runs through Insomnia in A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV.

Did you know that Square Enix released a retro-inspired beat ’em up based on Final Fantasy XV in 2016?
Even hardcore Final Fantasy fans might not remember the forgotten game well nowadays, but it’s quite the hidden gem. Titled A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV, the unlikely spinoff game was released as a pre-order bonus with Final Fantasy XV. It follows King Regis as he tells Noctis a bedtime story about defeating Ultros, a monstrous crystal thief causing daemons to spawn all over Insomnia and Duscae. In practice, it's a side-scrolling beat ’em up that pays homage to the classic brawlers while implementing Final Fantasy magic, enemies, and more.
A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV Is Available Now For Free!
Though A King’s Tale only lasts an hour and doesn’t have co-op, it’s a polished and exhilarating experience that Final Fantasy fans shouldn’t forget. It was a pleasant surprise to find this deep within my backlog ahead of the fifth anniversary of its stand-alone release, but its existence also raised many questions.
How did this project come to be? Why is it so polished? And why aren't more short but sweet games like this used to excite fans for notable game releases? I spoke to Cord Smith, executive producer and creative director on the project, to learn its history and how this forgotten Final Fantasy spinoff connects with everything from Dead Island to Masters of the Universe to Stranger Things.
At its heart, this is a story about an ambitious marketing agency that created a new kind of game through a multi-studio effort on a tight budget. And it all starts with Dead Island 2.
Retro Revenge
In the mid-2010s, Smith worked at a creative agency called Platform. This agency would often produce screenshots and trailers used in the marketing of video games. Around the time Dead Island 2 was in development and set to release, Smith and other people involved with channel marketing at the company pondered whether it could make a retro game that marketing could use to sell a notable game.
Smith asserted that it was possible, but thought it had to be done the right way to avoid producing a bad game. He found game development and animation partners to craft a small but satisfying retro game that could tie into the then soon-to-be-released Dead Island 2.
While his pitch had a high budget, Dead Island 2 developer Deep Silver and Platform accepted it. Smith and his partners now had to build something that wasn’t done much before and hasn’t been done much since. “Sure, it was a promotional game, but we were putting it on console, and we were treating it like a real game project,” Smith tells Digital Trends.

When designing it, Smith and his development partners didn’t have a playable build of Dead Island 2. They got a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of what that game was supposed to be and additional information to draw from. The result of this effort was Dead Island: Retro Revenge, an on-rails beat ’em up set within the Dead Island universe.
“I love taking someone else’s IP and doing something that respects it and honors what they’re doing. but surprises them by where we can take it in spite of our limitations,” Smith explains. Ultimately, Deep Silver and Smith were thrilled with how Retro Revenge turned out. But there was a problem: Dead Island 2 was never released.
“Dead Island 2 did not make it to release, but Dead Island: Retro Revenge did, so they put it in a collection,” he explains. “That was a shame as we didn’t get to see it reach what we built it for. It never got to be the pre-order promotional thing that we wanted.”
"Sure, it was a promotional game, but we were putting it on console, and we were treating it like a real game project."

Gaming

Dead by Daylight is bringing The Ring to its horrifying world

dead by daylight ringu chapter

The newest chapter of Dead by Daylight, the hit multiplayer survival horror game, is bringing a Japanese cult classic icon with it. The Dead by Daylight world is colliding with the story of Ringu, the cult classic that was famously adapted into The Ring, the hit horror mystery film.

Dead by Daylight went from being known for its fear-filled gameplay to gaining even more recognition for its horror collaborations. It's featured various icons from the genre, including Pinhead from Hellraiser, Freddy Krueger, Nemesis of Resident Evil 3 fame, Silent Hill's Pyramid Head, Michael Myers, and more.

Gaming

Final Fantasy XIII is coming to Xbox Game Pass, while Red Dead Online is leaving

Lightning prepares to attack an enemy.

Microsoft revealed the first batch of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in September. The biggest title is Final Fantasy XIII, one of the most divisive entries in the series to date. Beyond Square Enix's RPG, indie darling Signs of the Sojourner will also be available alongside a number of other indies. As usual, a few big names are also leaving the service this month, including Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten and Red Dead Online.

Game Pass subscribers will be able to play Final Fantasy XIII in its entirety starting tomorrow, September 2. The game features the active time battle system that Final Fantasy fans have come to know and love, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. The game is number 13 on our list of the best Final Fantasy games. While it won't be available on Game Pass' cloud service for mobile play, subscribers will be able to play it on both console and PC.