The Walking Dead Hits Dead by Daylight, But Where’s Negan?
Dead by daylight’s TWD Collab Is Lit but Lacks Lucille
It’s official: Dead by Daylight has pulled off another licensed horror handshake, and this time it’s with the undead royalty itself, The Walking Dead. Announced during Behavior Interactive’s July spotlight and now live on the Public Test Build (PTB) for Steam, this collab brings Rick Grimes and Michonne into the fog as playable survivors.
Yep, you heard right.
Two of zombie fiction’s most iconic protagonists are here to cleanse totems, pop gens, and stare into the abyss that is matchmaking.
And honestly? It’s a win. A dusty, blood-splattered win. But before we start throwing pallets in celebration, let’s talk about what’s here, what’s broken, and what’s still mysteriously missing. (Hint: rhymes with “Beegan.”)
What’s In the Fog This Time?
Let’s start with the content. Rick Grimes is fully playable on the PTB, looking like he walked straight out of the comic books. He’s grizzled, determined, and armed with three very Rick-ish perks (more on those in a bit). Michonne, on the other hand, was supposed to join him…but has been sidelined with one of the most hilariously Dead by Daylight bugs we’ve seen in a while.
Apparently, her hair is just too damn powerful for the PTB. For now, you can use her perks but not play as her.
Also in the mix is a new tile variant for the Garden of Joy map. It features iconic visuals like the “Don’t Open: Dead Inside” doors from The Walking Dead’s pilot episode. It’s a small addition, sure, but it hits the nostalgia button just hard enough to make longtime fans giddy.
And for those of you who just can’t live without Daryl Dixon brooding in the corner, good news: he’s not a full-fledged character, but he is coming as a Legendary skin for Rick.
No word on whether the crossbow shoots generators, but we can dream.
Perk Breakdown: Rick’s Grit, Michonne’s Fury
Each new survivor gets three unique perks, and so far, the community’s having a field day theorycrafting whether they’ll break the meta or get nerfed into oblivion.
Rick Grimes Perks
Image: Dead by Daylight x The Walking Dead Collab | Behaviour Interactive Inc. | AMC Studios
Come and Get Me!: After unhooking, you can press your ability button to make injured and dying survivors leave no traces. Afterwards, you shout your battle cry and the killer can see your aura for a few seconds. Rick is nothing if not reckless in his heroism.
Teamwork: Toughen Up: When another survivor stuns or blinds the killer while you’re injured and close, you become a stealth ghost.
Apocalyptic Ingenuity: After interacting with 2 chests, you can activate your ability next to a broken pallet to build a new, fragile pallet that will be destroyed after dropped. You can also see the auras of broken pallets nearby. Perfect for flashlight nerds and toolbox goblins alike.
Michonne Grimes Perks
Image: Dead by Daylight x The Walking Dead Collab | Behaviour Interactive Inc. | AMC Studios
Last Stand: After stalking the killer for a while, when you fast vault you can stun the killer for 3 seconds if they’re within 2.5 m once per match.
Teamwork: Throw Down: After stunning or blinding a Killer, both you and injured nearby survivors gain Endurance and can see the Killer’s aura for up to 10 seconds. It’s a speed-run for the savior complex.
Conviction: After healing a survivor and being downed with at least 25% recovery, you can recover instantly – however, you gain Broken and flop to the ground like a dead fish after 20-30 seconds.
The perks are flavorful, if not overpowered. But let’s be real: the real power is being able to crouch-walk past a locker as Rick Grimes while humming the TWD theme to yourself.
But...Where's My Boy Negan?
Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the fog. Rick? Great. Michonne? Amazing. But no Negan?
You mean to tell me we’ve got a licensed chapter called The Walking Dead, and Lucille is just chilling in a bat rack somewhere, unused?
Negan would’ve made an incredible survivor or, better yet, a Killer. Imagine that smug grin bearing down on you as you try to loop him around shack. Give him a perk called “Lineup” that causes survivors to kneel for five seconds while monologuing before Lucille gets a taste…
Boom. Instant classic.
Image: Negan | The Walking Dead | AMC Studios
Community forums have been buzzing about this omission, and frankly, it stings. With Dead City and The Ones Who Live making waves, there’s no way this is the end of the TWD and DBD crossover potential.
Fingers crossed for a second wave, maybe this time with some barbed-wire vengeance.
Nemesis Walkers + Rick = Comedy Gold?
While we’re tossing out dream features, here’s one more: wouldn’t it be absolutely hilarious if Rick or Michonne had unique voice lines when interacting with Nemesis’s AI zombies? Picture Rick yelling, “Wrong apocalypse, buddy,” or Michonne side-eyeing them and muttering, “Amateurs.”
Image: Dead by Daylight x The Walking Dead Collab | Behaviour Interactive Inc. | AMC Studios
Of course, BHVR hasn’t confirmed any such interactions. But we can hope. Watching Walking Dead characters get stunned by a shambling Resident Evil zombie is exactly the brand of crossover chaos this game thrives on.
How to Play the DbD Beta Branch (If You’re on PC)
If you want in on the undead action early, you’ll need to access the Public Test Build (PTB) on Steam. Just right-click Dead by Daylight in your library, go to Properties, then Betas, and select “publictest.” Boom, you’re in.
Image: How to Join the Dead by Daylight PTB Beta Branch on Steam
Keep in mind: PTB builds are usually buggy, and Rick may or may not launch into orbit during a vault animation. Console players, unfortunately, will have to wait until the chapter officially drops on July 29. That means you’ve got just enough time to get spoiled by perks before they get nerfed into the ground.
A Bloody Good Fit (Just Add the Bat)
This Dead by Daylight and The Walking Dead collab makes sense in a way not every DBD chapter does. It fits. Rick and Michonne look right at home in the Fog. The perks are punchy, the visuals are strong, and the nostalgia runs deep. It’s one of the more exciting licensed additions since Resident Evil, and it genuinely feels like it could stick around longer than some one-off cosmetic cash-ins.
Still, it’s hard not to feel the sting of what’s missing. Negan was right there. His absence is loud, barbed, and bat-shaped. But if this first batch sells well, maybe BHVR will finally give us the killer we deserve.
Until then, we’ll be crouching behind gens, waiting for our moment to shine…or (more likely) to get tunneled and camped immediately. Either way, The Walking Dead is here, and the Fog has never been more funderful.
See you on the hooks.
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Jeff the Jeff
July 11, 2025
I mean, it’s cool they have new characters but I dont really care if they don’t have a new killer. I’m not even a killer main, but it just doesn’t change the game a lot.
Ayefkay
July 12, 2025
Hey Jeff, thanks for stopping by! I think the perks can shake up the game a lot but we’ll have to see how impactful they become.