NieR:Automata comes to Dead by Daylight as a cosmetic collection

NieR:Automata has crossed into Dead by Daylight. Behaviour Interactive put a NieR:Automata Cosmetic Collection live on 6 October, bringing 2B, A2 and Emil into the asymmetric horror game's Fog.

Cosmetics, not a chapter

In Dead by Daylight the label matters. A chapter adds new playable survivors, a killer and a map; a cosmetic collection adds outfits for characters who are already in the game. So 2B, A2 and Emil arrive as things a player wears rather than a new killer to learn, which is the cheaper and quicker way for Behaviour Interactive to put a beloved licence in front of its audience between full chapters.

Why these three

2B and A2 are the YoRHa androids at the centre of NieR:Automata, and Emil is the machine-headed wanderer who has drifted through the series since the original NieR. Between them they cover the most recognisable silhouettes PlatinumGames' action role-player produced, which makes them a natural fit for a game that has spent a decade turning other people's horror and sci-fi into crossover outfits.

The collection is live now, in the same year Dead by Daylight marks its tenth anniversary.

Our opinion

The Fog has been very good to other people's characters, and this is a smart piece of licensing even if it reads as modest. A cosmetic collection is the lowest-risk way to test whether NieR:Automata's audience turns up: no new mechanics, no balance pass, just three of the most recognisable designs in modern action games walking through a horror map. It is also a reminder of how Dead by Daylight has outlasted most of its rivals by being a stage for other people's stories. The only real disappointment is that Emil does not get to be a killer.