PUBG x Dead by Daylight crossover brought a tense four-vs-one horror chase to PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS. Survivors repaired generators; the Killer hunted.
In 2026, the PUBG x Dead by Daylight crossover is a fond, foggy memory. The limited-time mode rolled into PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS back in October 2022, and it turned the usual battle royale chaos into a tense four-versus-one horror chase. Survivors had to repair generators, dodge a relentless Killer, and escape together. The Killer had one simple goal: stop every last one of them from getting out. No cap, it was a sweatfest.
🔦 The Setup: Four Survivors, One Killer
The mode was a multiplayer horror mashup. One player became the savage Killer, while the other four became Survivors. The Killer hunted; the Survivors worked together to avoid getting killed. At match start, players selected Survivor or Killer. If they did not pick before the countdown, the game randomly assigned roles. If every player chose Survivor, one random player became the Killer. If two or more chose Killer, a single random player got the role. Survivors played in third-person perspective (TPP), while the Killer played in first-person perspective (FPP). The minimum and maximum starting players for the standard mode was four.
Custom matches expanded the chaos. They allowed four to fourteen starting players and one to three Killers. That meant multiple Killers could stalk the map at once, which was absolute bedlam.
🏃 Survivor Life: Normal, Damaged, and Knocked Out
Survivors had three states, and each one changed how they played. In the Normal State, sprinting or being damaged/knocked out revealed their trail to the Killer for ten seconds. Their heart beat faster and louder when the Killer was near. Sprinting drained an exhaust gauge; if it hit zero, they could not sprint until it recovered. Falling from a high place did not hurt them, but it took longer to stand upright again.
In the Damaged State, taking damage in normal state moved them to damaged. They dropped a consistent blood trail behind them every second while moving, and that trail lasted four seconds. They also moaned in pain, which could alert the Killer. Using a Med Kit healed them back to normal, and other Survivors could heal them too.
In the Knocked Out State, taking damage while damaged knocked them out. Their movement speed dropped drastically, and they could not interact with any map objects. The Killer or another Survivor could carry them. Their HP slowly decreased for four minutes; at zero, they died. They could slowly heal themselves even without a Med Kit, but another Survivor had to heal them to go back to damaged state.
🔧 Generators, Exit Gates, and the Escape Timer
Once a match started, broken generators were scattered across the map. The number of broken generators was three greater than the number of Survivors. Survivors had to work together to repair one more generator than the number of Survivors to activate the exit gate switches. For a standard four-Survivor match, that meant seven broken generators existed, and five needed repairs.
During repairs, a QTE popped up. Success slightly increased the repair gauge. Failure revealed the Survivor's location to the Killer and slightly decreased the generator's repair gauge. More than one Survivor could repair a single generator together to speed things up.
Once the required number of generators was repaired, the exit gates appeared as silhouettes on the screen. Survivors flipped the switch with the interaction key to escape in time. If no Survivor was knocked out or stuck in a Blue Zone Locker, everyone had to escape through the exit altogether within two minutes. If at least one Survivor was knocked out or stuck in a Blue Zone Locker, the window stretched to four or more minutes. If every Survivor failed to escape within the specified time, the Killer won. If only one Survivor was alive, they could open the exit gate without repairing any more generators.
💀 The Killer's Toolkit
The Killer could not be killed by Survivors. Their job was to knock out Survivors and carry them to Blue Zone Lockers to sacrifice them. Blue Zone Lockers held knocked out Survivors for a certain amount of time before killing them. Other Survivors could see blue silhouettes of knocked out teammates. When a Survivor was knocked out and carried, a QTE popped up to give them a chance to stun the Killer and drop free.
Survivors could also knock over randomly spawned Pallets. This either gained distance while running away or hit the Killer at the right timing to temporarily disorient them. The Killer could destroy knocked over pallets.
Killers had faster movement speed than Survivors. Falling from a high place did not inflict damage or require any delay to stand upright again, but vaulting speed was much slower. They could see silhouettes of Survivors who failed to heal themselves/teammates or repair a generator, and silhouettes of Survivors who rescued others from Blue Zone Lockers. They could damage generators being repaired with the interaction key.
Killers attacked and knocked out Survivors with provided weapons: a loaded Win94, a Machete, and a Sticky Bomb. The Sticky Bomb showed a silhouette of the attached bomb on the screen. They could obtain one more Sticky Bomb five seconds after using the first, and hold up to two. The Sticky Bomb did not knock out Survivors.
🎯 Blue Zone Lockers and Kill Timing
Killers had to keep captured Survivors in a Blue Zone Locker for at least two minutes to kill them on the first capture, OR keep them captured for the second time for at least one minute, OR keep them captured the third time to kill them immediately, OR leave a knocked out Survivor on the ground for four minutes. If every Survivor was trapped in a Blue Zone Locker, they died immediately and the match ended with the Killer's victory.
🎒 Items, Heals, and Loot Crates
Survivors could only hold one item at a time, and items were consumed on use. At the beginning, they randomly received one starting item among four options:
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Smoke Grenade: created a temporary smoke field to hinder the Killer's vision.
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Lv. 1 Stun Grenade (2): temporarily stunned the Killer.
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Lv. 1 Toolbox: temporarily destroyed the Blue Zone Locker and sped up generator repairs.
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Lv. 1 Med Kit: healed the user and gave a speed boost when healing themselves and/or teammates.
A QTE popped up during healing. Success slightly increased the heal gauge; failure slightly decreased it. More than one Survivor could heal a single Survivor together, and they did not all have to hold Med Kits. Survivors could also find and pick up item crates during the match. Those crates could contain Lv. 2 Stun Grenade, Smoke Grenade, Lv. 2 Toolbox, and Lv. 2 Med Kit. If a Survivor held no items, the silhouettes of lootable item crates appeared on screen.
🎁 Missions, Rewards, and Store Drops
The crossover also came with a mission event. Players accessed the PUBG x Dead by Daylight Mission Event page by pressing the event banner in the lobby. They pressed Start Mission, checked available missions and rewards, played the mode, and then claimed rewards. The rewards included:
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Play 1 match: Dwight Unknown Outfit redeem code, redeemable in Dead by Daylight.
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Play 5 matches: Dead by Daylight Killers Spray.
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Reach 10 cumulative kills as a Killer: Dead by Daylight The Nurse Mask.
PC rewards were delivered to the Customize page as soon as the Claim Reward button was pressed. Console rewards were delivered by November 12 UTC. A minimum of five minutes of gameplay, including spectating time, counted as one match. Only matches in the PUBG x Dead by Daylight mode counted. Each account could participate and receive each reward only once.
The store also added Dead by Daylight-themed cosmetics. The Dead by Daylight Mega Bundle cost 2970 G-COIN and included bonus items: Dead by Daylight Backpack Set, Dead By Daylight Sacrificial Hook Pan, and Dead By Daylight Killers Nameplate. Individual costume sets for The Huntress, The Legion, The Clown, and The Trapper cost 1190 G-COIN each.
🧩 Custom Matches and Partner Events
Custom matches let players tweak the horror. They supported four to fourteen starting players and one to three Killers. The mode was available through the LABS banner in the lobby. LABS gameplay did not provide XP or gameplay rewards, was not reflected in Career/Match History, and did not support replay.
There was also a partner event. Players could head to participating PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS Partners' channels during the event period, take part in their custom matches, and receive a Pumpkin Head and Golden G-Coin Box as rewards.
📅 The 2026 Reality Check
As of 2026, the PUBG x Dead by Daylight mode is no longer live. The original service period for PC and Console was October 21 to November 6/7, 2022, with custom matches running until December 7/8, 2022. The mission event and store sales ended around the same time. That means players cannot queue for it today. Still, the crossover remains a memorable experiment: a battle royale that briefly became a horror survival game. It was chaotic, punishing, and absolutely not for the faint of heart. For anyone who missed it, the mechanics above are the full picture. For anyone who played it, the Fog probably still haunts their memories.
