Behaviour Interactive, the Canadian studio behind Dead by Daylight and Meet Your Maker, recently announced their acquisition of AntiMatter Games, known for their part in the Killing Floor games. In an exclusive interview with PCGamesN, executive vice presidents Wayne Meazza and Stephen Mulrooney tell us what this means for the future of the DBD studio, and that their only focus is creating unique gaming experiences across multiple genres – and potentially, given Antimatter’s history, more FPS games.
The recent acquisition comes in the wake of the folding of AntiMatter Games, who previously worked on the likes of Killing Floor and Rising Storm. Taking the team in, the DBD devs retain the existing AntiMatter staff, renaming the company Behaviour – South. “Fundamentally, Truro is a beautiful place with a good standard for quality of life,” Meazza says, “and the AntiMatter team, now Behaviour UK – South, place a lot of importance on work-life balance. This fits in well with Behaviour’s own work culture and policies. It was simply a fantastic fit, and a chance to preserve an environment where people can grow and learn.”
As for what capacity the new team will fill in the company, Meazza tells PCGamesN, “The new studios will be part of Behaviour’s services division, and will enhance Behaviour’s industry-leading external development capabilities, working on games for other publishers and developers. Dead by Daylight, along with titles like Meet Your Maker, is handled by a different division.”
Despite multiple publishing and development credits under their belt, including the aforementioned Meet Your Maker and Hooked on You dating sim, Dead by Daylight remains BHVR’s most popular game. Discussing whether the expansion means increased resources to knuckle down in the horror genre or the continued publishing of a variety of games, Mulrooney reveals the company’s motto, “Unique moments. Together. Forever”.
Stephen goes on to tell us that this means any genre is within Behaviour’s remit, as long as there’s a chance to provide a really unique gaming experience to the player. He says, “We are on the lookout to create new game experiences and even reinvent game genres that will wow players.” If you’ve played, or even heard of the DBD dating sim Hooked on You, you’ll already know this to be true.
Upcoming puzzle game Islands of Insight is another game you may not expect from Behaviour, but Stephen gives this as the perfect example of the team’s motto. “Our partnership with Lunarch Studios, who is behind Islands of Insight, is a great embodiment of this principle. It is very different from what we’ve done so far, and this is exactly the reason why we wanted to publish this title.”
Meazza echoes Stephen on this when asked about the Antimatter team’s existing development experience, saying, “Behaviour’s services division supports a wide range of genres.” He continues, “We don’t want to pigeonhole anyone because there’s a lot of diverse talent – both in this industry and in Behaviour itself.” FPS fans might even have a lot to look forward to from Behaviour – South, as Wayne goes on, “We originally were attracted to the AntiMatter team due to their great experience and success with first-person shooters, but the scope of what Behaviour can do goes well beyond that. If one of our teams is passionate about a certain genre and has the right skillset for it, we’ll do our best to ensure they can work on that project.”
So what can we expect from the future of Behaviour? Well, it seems fairly vague – but in the best way possible. “I can’t talk much about specifics,” says Meazza, “but Behaviour is on a long term strategic growth plan. We’re always on the lookout for talented people and supportive communities who would be a good fit with Behaviour’s work culture and people-first approach, while also bolstering our development capabilities.”
While Dead by Daylight fans can expect the continued support of the teams in Canada then, it seems there’s a lot more to come from Behaviour’s new UK teams, as well as any that might be acquired going forward.
If you’re interested in trying some of Behaviour’s other games, why not have a glance at our Hooked on You review to see how the Psyop-developed DBD dating sim came out. Perhaps you’re more excited for the upcoming Islands of Insight, in which case, try out some of the best puzzle games already available while you wait.