UPDATE: 2023/01/17 11:13 EST BY DAMIEN LYKINS
PR speaking on behalf of Behaviour Interactive and the Dead by Daylight team reached out to DualShockers with an official statement confirming that The Cannibal will remain a part of the Dead by Daylight experience, quipping "He's hooked on us!" and laying the reported leak to rest.
The original report follows.
According to DBDLeaks – a reliable leaker for DeadByDaylight news – the iconic murderer Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series might be leaving the game soon after six years since his first appearance.
It would be more accurate to say that DeadByDaylight publisher/developer Behavior Interactive might not be able to renew the character's license, which has happened before with the Stranger Things IP. That DLC was pulled away in November 2021 due to the license expiring, but old players who already purchased the DLC could still use the killer character Demogorgon, as well as the two survivors, Nancy Wheeler and Steve Harrington. Nonetheless, the map of the underground complex that was a part of the removed DLC became no longer accessible to any player in any mode.
The skills and perks inspired by Stranger Things were also changed to non-licensed alternatives such as Babysitter changing to Guardian, or Better Together turning into Situational Awareness. It is highly likely that a similar scenario will happen in Leatherface's case and that players will still be able to play with their purchased character regardless of the DLC's availability. New players, however, will not be able to buy or play with the character anymore.
Players are advised to purchase the character's DLC before the leaked information becomes a reality, or alternatively, they can acquire a code for it from a third-party re-seller if any remain after the removal. Fans are also speculating that this happened due to conflict with the upcoming third-person asymmetrical horror experience inspired by the same IP, which is currently being developed by Gun Interactive.
Another reliable leaker account, DbdNewsReal, adds some weight to the IP conflict speculation and says that the DLC will stay purchasable for at least a few more months. The account also advises fans to not buy cosmetics for the character, speculating that there's going to be a sale down the road. The leaker was able to confirm this news by finding unlicensed perk strings in the latest game Public Test Build, which only shows up for people who don't already own the Leatherface chapter, further hinting at the character's eventual departure. There has been no official statement on the matter as of yet.