Dead By Daylight developers Behaviour Interactive have announced that they have acquired Red Hook, creators of Darkest Dungeon. This is the same Behaviour Interactive that recently laid off a bunch of people, cancelled a game, and shut down a studio, Midwinter Entertainment, after acquiring a bunch of developers over the last two years (the others being SockMonkey, Codeglue, and Fly Studio). Darkest Dungeon is a horror game, like DBD, so I guess the acquisition resonates in that regard. Still, my immediate judgment is “wow.”
Red Hook will remain a “fully independent studio” under Behaviour, according to the “independent” definition that has yet to be shared in full. “Darkest Dungeon has been a series that we as fans have long admired, enjoyed (and perhaps even lost some sleep over) and the opportunity to welcome Red Hook as a fully independent studio under the Behaviour banner is exciting,” reads a statement on social media. “We look forward to supporting Red Hook as they continue to do what they do best: challenge your sanity.”
In a separate announcement, Behaviour CEO and co-founder Rémi Racine described the move as, in essence, a corporate exercise in adopting a new child because your inflamed, stay-at-home, piercing-eyed son needs a new playmate, god bless him. “Earlier this year, we set an ambitious goal for our future as a publisher — to make Behaviour synonymous with horror, and to surround Dead by Daylight with a library of similarly exceptional horror games,” he wrote. “Our acquisition of Red Hook is another important step toward that goal, with more to come.”
Surrounds, huh? I'd keep your distance, Red Hook. If there's one thing Dead By Daylight is known for, it's cannibalizing characters from other horror fiction. They said the alien couldn't be tamed, Red Hook. I'll give it two months until the entity kidnaps Wayne June and turns him into DLC.
Red Hook itself seems happy with this arrangement, as you'd expect. In the same press release, co-founder Chris Bourassa described Behaviour as “dual spirits” as “both studios are Canadian, independent, and dedicated to fantasy horror games.”
“The benefit of Red Hook’s Where We Differ is its scale, which opens the door to new possibilities,” Bourassa added. “Behavior’s support will help us continue our vision for the future of Red Hook and fully focus on making Darkest Dungeon an absolute behemoth of the dark fantasy genre.”
Again, I'm not sure how the 'independence' thing works in practice here – what is Behaviour going to do, apart from providing development funds? At least they've confirmed that all 29 people from Red Hook's current team have been retained.
Acquisitions aside, Red Hook is currently working on a kingdom-sized expansion for Darkest Dungeon 2 that will turn it into a turn-based tabletop game.