Behaviour Interactive cuts external development roles as mobile and casual demand slows

Behaviour Interactive has laid off part of its external development team after demand for mobile and casual partner work fell. In an April 22, 2026 report, Game Developer said the Dead by Daylight studio did not disclose the number of affected staff.

The company said the cuts are tied to its services business rather than to Dead by Daylight itself. Behaviour told Game Developer that external development has long been a meaningful part of the studio's business, but recent demand in mobile and casual co-development has slowed enough that it does not expect comparable replacement work in the near term. That distinction matters because Behaviour sits in two markets at once: live service operation through its own games and contract production for other publishers.

Why the cut matters

Behaviour is not a small studio absorbing a minor restructure. The company said it had roughly 1,200 employees as of March 2026 across Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, Rotterdam, and the UK. It also highlighted a partner list that includes NetEase Games, Disney, Nintendo, EA, and Tencent, which shows how broad the external development business had become before the slowdown.

The timing is awkward. Less than a month ago, Behaviour acquired 7 Days to Die developer The Fun Pimps for an undisclosed price. The company also closed subsidiary Midwinter Entertainment in 2024. Put together, the latest layoffs point to a studio that is still willing to invest, but only in areas where demand looks durable.

What to watch next

The immediate question is whether the external development pullback stays limited to mobile and casual contracts or spreads into other support work. For players, there is no announced shutdown, delay, or roadmap change for Dead by Daylight in this report. For the broader industry, the more important signal is that even a studio with a major live game and a long partner roster is trimming service capacity when publishers stop commissioning as much mobile and casual work.