The cosmetics in Dead By Daylight have become a hugely popular component of the game, and it’s no wonder. Each survivor has a personalized backstory and fashion sense to choose from. There’s Kate Denson, an aspiring musician with penchant for denim cut-offs and cowboy boots; Yun-Jin Lee, a Korean music producer who wears metallic ruffled blouses and flashy fur coats; and Nea Karlsson, an “urban artist” who wears beanies, ripped jeans, and carries around a skateboard. Players can customize each of these characters’ looks by purchasing new pieces in the web store with “auric cells,” the in-game currency. A premium outfit—in other words, a head-to-toe look—can go for almost 1,100 cells ($8.99 USD).
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Robert says the demand for these cosmetics has grown so much that the creative team now dedicates entire meetings to brainstorming cosmetic designs. “Many of our character concept artists have a background in fashion, and they look at the runways and fashion designers for inspiration,” says Robert, adding that a new character can take anywhere from two to three months to create. “We want to do storytelling through the clothing. We did that for The Trickster, our K-pop-themed killer [who wears a feather-shouldered evening coat, among other pieces]. He’s a showman, so we looked at the big Korean fashion designers.”
Many gaming brands are capitalizing on this growing appetite for fashion by delivering exclusive virtual outfits made in collaboration with designers or celebrities. Fortnite, for instance, was one of the first gaming platforms to really fuse high-fashion and gaming this year. Back in August, it partnered with superstar Ariana Grande to release the Rift Tour—a special, limited-edition event where gamers could play as Ariana herself, and dress her up in holographic mini dresses and her signature high ponytail (she can also kill her opponents with a huge pink hammer).
