Jason Voorhees Is Finally Coming to Dead by Daylight on June 16
Jason Voorhees is coming to Dead by Daylight on June 16, 2026 — the same week the asymmetric horror game turns ten. Developer Behaviour Interactive confirmed the addition as part of a broader 10th anniversary event, making Jason the headliner of Chapter 40. For anyone who watched Friday the 13th: The Game collapse under a rights dispute and get delisted in 2023, this is the moment they've been waiting for.
The licensing mess, solved
Getting Jason into any game has been notoriously difficult. The character's rights were split between screenwriter Victor Miller, who holds domestic US ownership, and separate foreign rights holders — a deadlock that dragged on for years and ultimately killed Friday the 13th: The Game (shut down in 2020, delisted 2023). The resolution came through Horror Inc.'s Jason Universe initiative, a coordinated effort to reunify the franchise across games, film, and merchandise. CBR notes this multi-party framework could serve as a template for other stalled horror IPs — think Evil Dead or A Nightmare on Elm Street.
What's in the anniversary event
Jason arrives as a playable Killer on June 16, though his specific abilities and perks haven't been revealed yet — only a short teaser has dropped so far. The 10th anniversary event runs June 16 through July 7 with exclusive cosmetics. A Collector's Edition is available from June 12 to July 31. Behaviour Interactive confirmed a live event in Montreal on June 14, two days before the in-game launch. The DLC rolls out simultaneously across all platforms.
The bigger picture
Dead by Daylight has grown to over 60 million players, a number built almost entirely on licensed horror collaborations — Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, the Xenomorph. Jason is the most recognizable name left, and his arrival closes a gap that's felt obvious since the genre's last dedicated title disappeared. The timing isn't accidental: A24 and Peacock's Crystal Lake prequel series premieres October 15, 2026, putting Jason back in front of a mainstream audience just months after his DBD debut. No pricing for the Chapter 40 DLC has been announced yet.
