Dead by Daylight Developer Apologizes After TheBurntPeanut Stream Ignites Community Backlash

Behaviour Interactive has issued an apology following a Dead by Daylight collaboration with controversial streamer TheBurntPeanut that sparked significant community backlash.

Halloween weekend turned out to be more eventful than the team behind the popular multiplayer horror game anticipated. What began as a relatively contained negative reaction has since escalated into a full-blown crisis for players, with some reporting they've uninstalled Dead by Daylight after seeing its developers work with TheBurntPeanut.

The Canadian studio first faced criticism from vocal community members when they discovered that the streamer, who gained popularity over the past year for playing extraction shooters like Arc Raiders, was trying out the horror multiplayer game for the first time. The Halloween season was expected to bring a slight increase in attention to Dead by Daylight, but for those who have supported it through its 10 years of service, the real shock came when the streamer revealed he had been gifted access to the game's entire roster of Survivors and Killers.

Some people on Twitter were not happy about TheBurntPeanut getting streamer privileges in Dead by Daylight.

"Wow! Wow!" TheBurntPeanut exclaimed while scrolling through dozens of instant unlocks during his Halloween stream. "Guys! I just got all the guys!"

Dead by Daylight initially starts players with a small selection of playable characters, with anyone interested in unlocking others required to use in-game currency to purchase them. Costs can range from a somewhat small amount of earnable currency (Iridescent Shards) for original Survivors and Killers, to around $5 of premium currency (Auric Cells) for licensed characters, such as The Walking Dead's Rick Grimes or Alien's Xenomorph. Prices vary further for those looking to purchase cosmetics.

No one seemed to bat an eye at TheBurntPeanut's interest in Dead by Daylight, but receiving official support from the developers raised a series of new questions from fans. The nature of this collaboration stream was not previously detailed or promoted in any capacity, leaving many to criticize what the streamer also mocked as "streamer privilege." The real issue for many, though, is with what it means to see Behaviour back this specific creator.

TheBurntPeanut has been the subject of much controversy in his short time in the spotlight for on-stream behavior many consider to be offensive. While others have defended him as simply "edgy," Dead by Daylight's vibrant group of progressive users have said they feel Behaviour has betrayed those who have otherwise felt safe in the community.

"This is why I'm continuing to step further away from Dead by Daylight," one popular post on X/Twitter said. "This is embarrassing, especially since there are still AMAZING creators who you haven't been approved into your program yet who have devoted their careers to DbD."

"For anyone not in the know," one popular Reddit thread posted in the aftermath of yesterday's stream said, "DBD has added a bigoted creator to their creator platform."

"I cannot word how disappointing and disgusted I am. I know full well this is just 1 BHVR employee, I've met some amazing people in the space and they would never let this happen. @DeadbyDaylight you need to make a response and I'm hoping you don't double down here."

There were dozens upon dozens of posts like this across social media, but the storm really picked up when supposed screenshots of Twitch chat messages from Behaviour began to circulate. Responding to the online outrage, the studio reportedly sent support TheBurntPeanut's way, with the most infamous message saying, "WE CAN TAKE THE HEAT! THEY ARE YOURS TO KEEP!"

This is where reports of players uninstalling Dead by Daylight really took off.

"This is the crowd @DeadByDaylight is catering to and welcoming into the community," another player said while sharing screenshots of posts from X users attacking the Dead by Daylight community, with some using a series of slurs. "Yes, this is the exact fanbase of this streamer. Not just a few 'bad apples.' It's bewildering how this exact same conversation already happened with Fortnite a couple months ago and [Behaviour's official community account] @DbDPulse still felt proud to back it."

The mention of Fortnite is a reference to this summer's drama around TheBurntPeanut's inclusion in the battle royale and the subsequent toxic backlash it created.

"So Dead by Daylight fucked up...and I uninstalled. @DeadbyDaylight @Behaviour"

"In 13.3K hours I never removed Dead by Daylight from my PC. Time ago I was really vocal about the dangers I saw incoming: I chose the wrong methods to fight and fell victim of the negativity caused by what I wish I was stronger at facing, but in that mess I was still right."

It's been a whirlwind 24 hours that has now come to a head with an official response from Behaviour. On its @DbDPulse X account, the developer admitted that one of its team members had awarded a streamer in-game content "without receiving appropriate approvals." Its statement also acknowledged that "the team member's subsequent comments and conduct do not align with Dead by Daylight's core values."

"When concerns about this decision became apparent during the stream, we should have responded by looking into these concerns, not dismissing them," the note continued. "Unfortunately, we've now seen the fallout of this decision unfolding in many conversations across the DbD community. We appreciate and stand with our community's willingness to ensure our shared values are being upheld, at all times, regardless of popularity, and we're heartbroken at the inflammatory language now being directed towards our community."

As the outrage surrounding TheBurntPeanut's time in Dead by Daylight took hold of the community, some moved to uncover the identity of the Behaviour team member responsible for giving him access and issuing responses. The studio alleged that some players threatened its employees, saying that such conduct "will never be acceptable." It also asked followers to "stop engaging with these posts."

"This weekend, a Dead by Daylight team member awarded in-game content and currency to a creator streaming our game. Although it is not unusual to unlock content to give creators discovering DbD a chance to have a sneak peek at available content, this decision was made without receiving appropriate approvals. Furthermore, the team member's subsequent comments and conduct do not align with Dead by Daylight's core values. When concerns about this decision became apparent during the stream, we should have responded by looking into these concerns, not dismissing them. Unfortunately, we've now seen the fallout of this decision unfolding in many conversations across the DbD community. We appreciate and stand with our community's willingness to ensure our shared values are being upheld, at all times, regardless of popularity, and we're heartbroken at the inflammatory language now being directed towards our community. At the same time, threatening employees will never be acceptable, and we're asking everyone to stop engaging with these posts. We apologize to our community for letting you down. We have already begun reviewing our internal processes to prevent an incident like this from happening again."

"We apologize to our community for letting you down," it continued. "We have already begun reviewing our internal processes to prevent an incident like this from happening again."

This response, too, has been met with backlash, with most Dead by Daylight players still upset that the situation was allowed to progress to this stage. Popular posts from the community call the team's message a "nothing-burger," with others accusing the developers of attempting to skirt criticism by sharing the response on its DbD Pulse account (21.1K followers) instead of the official Dead by Daylight account (1.3 million followers) or Behaviour Interactive account (110.5K followers).

"DBD won't feel safe to stream any time soon, unfortunately," one player said in response to the message. "This just isn't good enough."

"he doesn't even like the game 😭"

"You know what's funny?" another response said. "This wasn't even a good business decision lmao. You spent 10 years building a progressive community. Who do you think is buying all those Feng & Sable cosmetics? Your progressive community. The streamer that you guys spent an entire afternoon defending played DbD for 2 hours & is now done with the game. So now you're left with no new players or financial gain from his community & your actual community is now aware that you don't actually stand by the values you claim to have."

That's where the situation rests for now. It's unclear if Behaviour will publicly share any additional updates regarding how the stream and content rewards for TheBurntPeanut came to be, or what action may be taken.

The year 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of Dead by Daylight. Although it has come with major reveals, including Friday the 13th's Jason and Terrifier's Art the Clown as playable characters, it's not been without its sour moments, too. Another speed bump arrived last week when the studio announced Child's Play Killer, Chucky, would soon no longer be available to purchase. The team clarified the reasoning for his removal – and his chances of coming back – in a statement sent to IGN.