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Dead by Daylight Devs Promise Numerous Bug Fixes After Desperate Fans Turn to Overwatch Developer Blizzard for Help

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Dead by Daylight players were left to fend for themselves after a recent update introduced several game-breaking exploits, so, naturally, they turned to Blizzard Entertainment and the Overwatch team for help.

Behaviour Interactive, the studio behind the long-running asymmetrical horror game, found itself in fight or flight mode after issuing its July update last week. Two Survivors from The Walking Dead — Michonne and Rick Grimes — were the headliners, but the latest patch came with more than just bloody new content for players to feast on.

Of Dead by Daylight’s many playable Killers, it’s The Clown who waltzed into patch 9.1.0 with the most changes. Specifically, any Survivors who encounter the bottle-throwing menace will notice that he is now much, much faster, with certain builds and strategies only increasing his speed further. Killers are usually always a bit faster than their prey, but the new update turns The Clown into a unique force of nature that makes him nearly unescapable.

As The Clown Killers flooded Dead by Daylight Trials, so too did several troublesome Survivor Perks. Builds using Streetwise, Blood Rush, and Last Stand were quickly becoming popular amongst die-hard fans who had discovered new exploits, including the ability to gain infinite item charges and occasional sprint boosts. These are bugs that can and have fundamentally shifted gameplay balance in Dead by Daylight as players take advantage of what many deem to be broken aspects of the experience.

These issues and more plagued the Dead by Daylight community for around one week, and with few promising updates from Behaviour arriving throughout that time, fans became desperate. There was only so much the memes of The Clown plastered onto Cars’ Lightning McQueen could do to ward off the negative feelings brought by game-breaking bugs, so players eventually took their concerns from Behaviour support threads to somewhere else entirely.

For some strange reason, they turned to Overwatch for help.

Heroes Never… Die?

As Blizzard took to its official Overwatch 2 social media pages to push new Stadium builds for Mercy and celebrate its new collaboration with NERF, Dead by Daylight fans began asking for assistance with zero warning or context.

“Hey could you fix some killer bugs that have been present for YEARS,” one reply to an Overwatch 2 post on X/Twitter says.

“Revert Clown changes, plz and thanks! <3” another adds.

Many of these posts have hundreds — if not thousands — of likes, with most replies asking for fixes for the biggest issues causing players trouble. Some messages are also asking for reworks for the Onyro Killer, while others are simply pleading for any amount of support at all. You’re more likely to spot The Clown fan art than any reply actually related to Overwatch depending on the post you click on, proving that Dead by Daylight fans have truly had enough.

It’s not at all clear why Dead by Daylight players, among the hundreds of major game developers out there, latched onto the Overwatch team at Blizzard. The two games are multiplayer experiences and that’s… about it, as neither truly shares that much in common outside of an ability to control characters in an online setting. It’s pure chaos that was mostly contained in Overwatch threads, though you might find a few stray posts from players bugging official Fortnite, Genshin Impact, Fatal Fury, and more accounts, too, if you look hard enough.

On the Hook

Whether it was the crossover no one expected or just general fan outcry, Behaviour heard the pleas for help and finally offered a detailed game plan for the future. With its own post on X, the Dead by Daylight team temporarily and immediately Kill Switched the Streetwise, Blood Rush, and Last Stand Perks, removing them from play as the studio worked on fixes. A hotfix, titled the 9.1.1 update, is currently set to follow today and is said to come with fixes for Streetwise and Last Stand, specifically, as well as “small adjustments” to Fog Vials.

Blood Rush fixes are scheduled to arrive next week, as are more tweaks to Fog Vials. These are necessary fixes but only a small step to address the community’s wider issue with Behaviour’s communication strategy. As a result, the team says it already “rebuilding” its Kill Switch process “to be more nimble and better account for community sentiment.”

In other words, don’t expect game-breaking Dead by Daylight bugs to tamper with the overall experience for weeklong periods in the future. Fans are happy to see their feedback finally addressed, but only time will tell if it’s enough to repair the damage done.

“We’re grateful for your feedback, which helps us identify places where we can improve and re-evaluate our processes, changing course when it’s needed to improve the Dead by Daylight experience for all,” Behaviour’s message concludes. “As a live game, we know this conversation is ongoing, and we appreciate you for being a part of it with us!”

Dead by Daylight recently celebrated its nine-year anniversary with special in-game events and rewards. It was preceded by the long-awaited introduction of Five Nights at Freddy’s content, including the new Springtrap Killer and a pizza restaurant map. With The Walking Dead now fully integrated into the 1v4 experience, players are looking forward to a new Killer in September as well as another new Killer and two new Survivors in November.

For more, you can read up on our recent interview with Behaviour, where we learned more about Springtrap and how the team finally brought Five Nights at Freddy’s into the world of The Entity. You can also check out how the Overwatch crew is trying to stay in good standing with its own community.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

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