Dead by Daylight maker Behaviour has bought the studio behind 7 Days to Die to create “a portfolio of horror IP”

The Canadian developer of Dead by Daylight, Behaviour Interactive, has bought The Fun Pimps, the Texas-based studio behind 7 Days to Die.

The two companies won’t reveal the value of the deal, which Behaviour’s CEO, Rémi Racine, says will help it achieve its aim of “creating a portfolio of horror IP in the game space.” So far, the crown jewel in Behaviour’s portfolio is the aforementioned asynchronous horror multiplayer title, Dead by Daylight, which to date has shifted over 60 million units over almost ten years in the market.

Zombie survival game 7 Days to Die, meanwhile, launched into Early Access back in 2013, and to date has sold more than 20 million copies over its lifetime.

“That’s an incredible achievement,” Behaviour VP product and executive producer, Isabelle Mocquard, tells GamesIndustry.biz.

“What’s even more impressive is the level of player engagement and the fact that the game has shown consistent growth over such a long period of time. In today’s market, the competition for attention is extremely high. Even high-profile recent releases struggle to break through. It’s rare to see a game maintain that level of longevity.”

Racine adds: “7 Days to Die is recognised in the market as a stable IP. The fanbase has been growing since day one. We’re buying something that people like in the horror space. Basically, we’re betting on improving this IP, but fundamentally, we’re buying something that we think has a great foundation.”

Mocquard also says she sees similarities in how Behaviour and The Fun Pimps have grown their respective horror hits, slowly and over time.

“Their success was built gradually by consistency, resilience, and a deep connection with their community,” she explains. “In many ways, Dead by Daylight followed a very similar path, growing year after year to the success it is today. That shared journey that we have connects this cultural alignment. We understand what it takes to support and evolve a game over the long term, and we have a deep respect for the craftsmanship and dedication that build lasting player communities. It’s really a great fit.”

For The Fun Pimps, the decision to sell came after co-founders Richard and Joel Huenink considered options for growing the company. The studio has grown from two people to 70 and has taken no outside investment.

“We’ve entertained the idea of potentially selling, merging, or looking for investment,” Richard Huenink explains. “Our success has allowed us to be selective in that process. Over this last year, we’ve had quite a few suitors interested in us. But the selection wasn’t necessarily about the pure financials. It was a good fit. We’re partnering with somebody who’s invested in what we’re doing. They see our vision, and they want to help us get there.”

Given the bearish nature of the M&A market in games over the last few years, there has been conversation about the value of being independent rather than being acquired. Huenink describes Behaviour’s portfolio as “an island model”, which will give The Fun Pimps the best of both worlds, where they are both supported and left to their own devices.

“They want to help us, but they also want us to continue to operate, with our culture and our philosophy,” Huenink explains. “They want to augment that. Behaviour is independent as well. They’re not publicly traded, so they’re big, but they still have that indie spirit.”

Mocquard adds that Behaviour’s aim is to help The Fun Pimps continue doing what they want, while supporting their overall plan for 7 Days to Die.

“When I first met with the team, I was struck by the creativity and the energy that the team brought,” she says. “They had a clear vision and a lot of ideas for where the game can go next. They will continue to provide that vision. Where Behaviour comes in is supporting that vision with strong production expertise. As well as being a work-for-hire studio at our roots, we have nearly a decade of live service experience through Dead by Daylight. On top of that, we can also help from a marketing standpoint, so continue to grow the audience.”

Buying versus creating IP

When compared with the rush of acquisitions seen during the COVID pandemic, the last few years in games investment and M&A have been relatively quiet. Behaviour has bucked the trend in that regard; in 2023 alone, the company bought SockMonkey Studios and CodeGlue, as well as forming Behaviour UK South with former staff from AntiMatter Games. The following year, the Dead by Daylight maker bought Fly Studio and Red Hook Studios, the maker of Darkest Dungeon.

“It is very difficult to create new IP,” Racine admits. “Our strategy is partnering with existing IPs that we think together, we could grow better. Obviously, we’re going after stuff where they think they need more support than what the game currently has. That was the case with Richard and Joel. We currently have one new IP in development at Behaviour. While we’re still on the lookout for something that might fit our portfolio, currently, we’re very focused on The Fun Pimps. The M&A market has slowed, but a company of our size can acquire a company the size of The Fun Pimps. Together, we’re better than the two of us separately. This is what I’m looking for in other opportunities. Together is way better than separate.”

Huenink adds: “I see Behaviour as very thoughtful and strategic in everything they do, unlike maybe some companies that just want to buy to grow without it being strategic, actually. That’s what was going on during COVID. You saw a lot of that. This is a lot more thoughtful, careful and strategic from many angles.”

Behaviour deputy CEO Nathan Sellyn says that the contraction in the M&A market forced the company to “narrow” its criteria when it came to acquisitions.

“We wanted a proven IP in horror, we wanted an opportunity where one plus one equals three and where Behaviour can bring something special to the partner,” he explains.

“There’s also this cultural alignment where we found teams we were excited to build with. By narrowing down the criteria, we have found more opportunities in this landscape than we did before.”

Horror time

The horror genre is flying at the moment. Big-budget titles like Silent Hill F and Resident Evil Requiem have dominated headlines and seen healthy sales, with the latter selling 60% more in its launch week than previous series entry Resident Evil Village. Meanwhile, the indie horror scene is thriving, with titles like Poppy Playtime maintaining momentum for years.

“This is a phenomenal time for horror,” Sellyn says. “It seems like there’s a new indie horror hit all the time, with the likes of No, I’m Not a Human and Mouthwashing, both from Critical Reflex. Then the traditional survival horror space is super strong; you have Silent Hill F and Cronos: The New Dawn last year, Resident Evil 9 just a few weeks ago. Then, between those two poles, we’d like to think we cover a lot of ground there with Dead by Daylight’s ‘museum of horror’ for very soon to be 10 years, and then the eldritch indie horror of the Darkest Dungeon franchise.”

“It seems like there’s a new indie horror hit all the time”

Nathan Sellyn

Looking to the future, the plan for The Fun Pimps is to grow 7 Days to Die even further while also exploring other projects.

“We are excited for the additional manpower from art, production and community,” Huenink says. “A lot of areas to augment our development and accelerate our ambitious plans. We haven’t shared all of our plans. There are a lot of big, amazing things we want to do in 7 Days to Die. Behaviour has heard a lot about these amazing things, and are also excited about it. Getting that stuff into the player’s hands at an accelerated and reliable cadence is what we’re committed to.”

Mocquard adds: “We are still in the early stage of integration, so we are not ready to talk about specifics. But in the meantime, 7 Days to Die will continue to be supported and updated as planned. The team remains focused on expanding the survival sandbox experience. We are working on accelerating some of those efforts at Behaviour, but those things will take some time.”