A Dead by Daylight film adaptation is in the works from Blumhouse and James Wan

The horror multiplayer game Dead by Daylight is coming to theaters. Per Variety, Behaviour Interactive's popular online game will be adapted to film via James Wan's Atomic Monster production company and Blumhouse. 

Stephen Mooney, executive VP for Behaviour, said the adaptation would help to "further expand the Dead by Daylight universe. [...] Atomic Monster and Blumhouse are the ideal partners to craft Dead by Daylight’s killer entrance onto the big screen.”

Dead by Daylight first released in 2016 and has since racked up 50 million worldwide players. In recent years, it's expanded its reach by bringing in characters from horror brands such as Stranger Things, Halloween, and Friday the 13th.

Behaviour and Blumhouse added that a search for the film's director is currently underway.

More recently, the Dead by Daylight franchise started to branch out with a dating sim from 2022 and an incoming comic book.

How Dead by Daylight fits into Blumhouse's new plans 

On its own, the news of Dead by Daylight getting a feature film would be par for the course. As we learned from Sony Pictures VR's Jake Zim recently, Hollywood wants these franchises to grow any and every way possible.

But being attached to Blumhouse and Atomic Monster, both of whom seem poised to merge in the future, provides some interesting possibilities. 

In February, Blumhouse announced its plans to open its own video game division, which will focus exclusively on horror titles. Having a popular online horror game attached to the overall Blumhouse brand gives some extra attention to Blumhouse Games when it eventually begins to release titles.

Since every game franchise is looking to spread itself out to new audiences, Blumhouse and Behaviour may take a swing at a project attached to whatever the larger Dead by Daylight franchise will be if and when that film releases.