‘We’re just thrilled the stars aligned’: Less than 2 years after his own game fully shut down, Jason Voorhees is coming to Dead by Daylight

Saturday, Behaviour Interactive revealed the latest playable killer coming to asymmetrical PvP game Dead by Daylight: Jason Voorhees. If that has you wondering, ‘How was he not in that game already?’, you’re not alone. In a press release, Horror Inc. executive VP Robbie Barsamian said Friday the 13th fans have been waiting for this collaboration “since Dead by Daylight launched.”

That release also revealed some of Jason’s abilities (in keeping with DBD’s naming conventions, he’s called The Slasher in-game). He can turn invisible and reappear at “key environmental points” like breakable walls and pallets, destroying them and causing any nearby survivors to give away their hiding spots with a scream. “Survivors will have to contend with the tension that comes from suddenly losing track of Jason … and knowing a vicious attack could be waiting just around the bend,” the release states.

Jason can also fashion “makeshift projectiles” from objects in the environment, like shattered pallets and even the hooks that killers use to claim their victims. He’ll be able to pin survivors to walls using this ability, leaving them “helpless and suspended,” but projectiles are only replenished when Jason goes back into stealth.

Senior creative director Dave Richard said in the press release that Jason’s DLC comes at a good time, as the game’s 10th anniversary “needed to be something special … we’re just thrilled the stars aligned.”

The masked murderer of horny teens has a surprisingly prolific gaming career. He showed up in Mortal Kombat X, for example, as well as some smaller games that have been delisted by now. Among them was Friday the 13th, a licensed asymmetrical PvP game not unlike Dead by Daylight, so Jason joining Behaviour’s coterie of killers is a full circle moment of sorts.

The team that worked on that Friday the 13th game, which fully shut down at the end of 2024 after years without dedicated servers, is working on a follow-up themed around Halloween set to release later this year. It’s hard to feel bitter—as long as we’re being honest, Michael Myers is way cooler.

If you’re itching to get stabby with The Slasher (so, slashy, maybe?), you won’t be waiting long. Jason will be added to the game’s public test build on Steam tomorrow, May 26, and the DLC will fully drop on June 16.