Two years ago, Stranger Things came to Dead by Daylight and two modern horror staples merged together to create an enjoyable experience for old fans of the game, as well as new fans who were heavily into the Netflix series. Starting in November, however, Hawkins will no longer be in Dead by Daylight.
The short answer for its removal is that the license for Stranger Things has most likely run out for Behavior Interactive. Sometimes developers choose not to resubmit licenses, and when that happens the content has to be removed from the game.
It's actually not that uncommon, as we can see with the recent remaster of Alan Wake, Duracell no longer appears in the game, whereas in the original copy released in 2010, Alan's batteries were marked . The Lego Lord of the Rings games also suffered the same fate and were withdrawn from sale due to soundtrack licensing disputes.
Related: All Daylight Dead All Status Effects Explained
Behavior Interactive released a statement saying:
As with all live games, frequent updates, additions and occasional changes are to be expected. With Stranger Things, our goal continues to be to ensure the legacy of these characters in our game for fans who have purchased them or plan to do so by November 17 at 14:00 PM EST. With the exception of Hawkins National Laboratory, all Stranger Things content relating to Nancy, Steve, and The Demogorgon will remain part of the Dead by Daylight experience.
For the most part, any previously purchased Stranger Things content will remain available to players, however, starting November 17, 2021, they will no longer sell any subsequent maps or characters tied to the Stranger Things IP.
It's a bit odd that they chose to pull that off, given that Stranger Things will be back in 2022 after a pandemic hiatus. The numbers will most likely dictate that the content in Dead by Daylight will be better than the licensed additions, which means paying for the license is no longer necessary.
If you weren't okay with buying this Stranger Things expansion pack, now might be the time! Looking for more content? Find out what SWF means in Dead by Daylight.
