Look, let's be real for a second. If you’ve been playing Dead by Daylight as long as I have, you know that the "Dead by Daylight dev update" drops are usually a mix of pure hype and absolute dread. But the January 2026 update? This one is different. It’s heavy.
We aren't just talking about a couple of perk tweaks or a map lighting pass. We’re looking at the massive return of the King. No, not Elvis. Stranger Things. Again. But it's not the same Hawkins lab trip you remember from 2019.
The community has been buzzing about the 9.4.0 PTB, and honestly, there is a lot to unpack that the official patch notes sorta gloss over. Between Vecna’s arrival as "The First" and the 2v8 mode getting a serious facelift, the game is basically unrecognizable from its 2016 roots.
Vecna is Not Who You Think He Is
The biggest shocker in the latest Dead by Daylight dev update is definitely the identity of the new killer. A lot of people expected the Dungeons & Dragons version of Vecna to be the only one, but Chapter 38 is bringing the Netflix heavy hitter: Henry Creel.
He’s officially called "The First" in-game.
If you played the PTB that ran from January 6 to January 13, you know his power, Test Subject #001, is kind of a nightmare to go against. He can enter the Upside Down to zip across the map, which sounds like Freddy’s teleport but feels way more aggressive. When he pops back out with an Undergate attack, it creates this massive AOE (Area of Effect) that slaps survivors with something called Worldbreaker tokens.
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It’s nasty.
His perks are already causing a stir in the meta forums. Turn Back the Clock is basically a middle finger to late-game gen rushing. After you hook someone, you can manually explode a nearby generator. It loses 10% progress instantly. It’s not just passive regression; it’s an active "stop that" button. Then there’s Hex: Hive Mind, which highlights generator progress through aura intensity. The brighter the aura, the closer it is to popping. It’s high-tier info that makes Discordance look like a baby perk.
Eleven and Dustin: The New Power Duo
We also got two new survivors—Eleven and Dustin Henderson. Because of DBD’s strict "everyone must be 18" rule, they’ve been aged up to their Season 5 appearances. It feels a bit weird seeing an adult Eleven in the Fog, but her perks are undeniably strong.
Extrasensory Perception is her standout. You crouch for four seconds, and suddenly you’re seeing auras in a 44-meter radius. The catch? You get the Oblivious and Elusive statuses. It’s the ultimate "high risk, high reward" stealth perk.
Dustin, on the other hand, is the new king of utility. His perk Change of Plan lets him turn a Toolbox into a Med-kit while sitting inside a locker. Think about that for a second. You finish a gen, duck into a locker, and suddenly you have the heals to reset. It’s going to be a solo-queue staple.
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The 2v8 Mode Just Got Terrifying
If you thought the first iteration of 2v8 was chaotic, the January 2026 Dead by Daylight dev update just turned the dial to eleven. They added Chucky (The Good Guy), and let’s just say, a tiny doll running at you while a 7-foot Trapper cuts off your exit is a specific kind of trauma.
Chucky got some massive innate buffs for this mode:
- Slice & Dice turn speed is up by 10%.
- Hidey-Ho Mode lasts 15% longer.
- Scamper now breaks pallets immediately.
They also introduced the Torchbearer survivor class. This is huge. You basically get a built-in Flashlight and Flashbang ability that doesn't take up an item slot. If you’re one of those people who lives for the "flashlight save," this is your new main. But killers got toys too. The Brute class now has a team skill that makes generators explode and spray smoke on survivors, inflicting the Hindered status for a full 12 seconds.
The 10th Anniversary and the "Rick and Morty" Rumor
The devs also dropped a massive teaser about the 10th Anniversary coming in June 2026. They're actually doing a live, in-person event in Montreal on June 14.
But what everyone is actually whispering about is a potential Rick and Morty collab. Yeah, I know. It sounds fake. But eagle-eyed players found a "Plumbus" asset hint in the latest roadmap files. Whether it’s just a charm or a full-blown survivor skin for Rick Sanchez remains to be seen, but the community is split down the middle. Some love the goofiness; others think the horror vibe is officially dead.
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Honestly? After seeing Vecna break a survivor's jaw in his new Mori, I think the horror is doing just fine.
What You Should Do Right Now
The full Stranger Things Chapter 2 is set to go live on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. If you want to be ready for the meta shift, here is the move:
First, save your Bloodpoints. You’re going to want to P3 (Prestige 3) Henry Creel immediately to get Turn Back the Clock on your other killers. It is going to be the definitive answer to the current gen-speed issues.
Second, if you’re a survivor main, start practicing your pathing on the new Groaning Storehouse and Rotten Field variants. The 2v8 maps are wider now, and the old loops don't always connect the way you think they do.
Lastly, keep an eye on the Visual Terror Radius settings. The update added an animated heart for lullabies, which is a massive accessibility win but also helps you track exactly how close a stealthed Killer like Vecna is when he’s stalking from the Upside Down.
The Fog is getting crowded, and with the 10th Anniversary looming, the January Dead by Daylight dev update is just the beginning of what looks like the game's biggest year ever. Get your builds ready; January 27 is going to be a bloodbath.