Call for Chapters:
Dead by Daylight (DBD) is an asymmetric four versus one online horror game where a team of survivors must work together to escape from a brutal killer, developed and published by Behavior Interactive. From its debut in 2016 the game has risen to become one of the most popular horror gaming experiences. As a live-service game with frequent updates, the game has developed a notable community following with prominent streamers, content creators, and popular memes. The game has inspired fans to cosplay, stream their matches, and develop fanart and fanfiction. The game is also known for its frequent collaborations with classic and emerging horror franchises, including Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Alien, Stranger Things, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and drag performers The Boulet Brothers. The game has also had different versions and spinoffs including Dead By Daylight Mobile (Behavior Interactive 2020) and The Casting of Frank Stone (Supermassive Games 2024). In November 2023, the gaming site Polygon reported Dead by Daylight reached 60 million players, and the game is celebrating its tenth anniversary in June 2026.
We invite proposals for original, unpublished essays that explore the different facets of horror and gaming in Dead by Daylight for an edited volume under contract with McFarland. We welcome interdisciplinary submissions from all career stages, including independent scholars and graduate students. Submissions should be scholarly but accessible to a general audience.
Suggested topics with DBD may include, but are not limited to, the following:
● Lore and worldbuilding
● Fan culture and community
● Horror in video games and the survival horror genre
● Transmedia ventures and shared worlds of horror
● Toxicity and online discourse
● World horror, folk horror, internet horror, and transnational dimensions of horror
● LGBTQ+ representation and community
● Race, horror, and survival
● The monstrous feminine, final girls, and women in horror
● Cosplay and fan work
● Embodiment and avatars
● Accessibility and horror games
● Interfaces and game menus
● Ruins, rust, and history in horror
● Game mechanics, balancing updates, and fairness
● Affect and abjection
● Player sentiment and experiences
● Licensing, collaborations, and merchandising
Submission Guidelines
Abstracts of 300 words, as well as brief author bios, should be submitted to Daniel
Fandino ([email protected]) & Cody Mejeur ([email protected]) by July 30, 2026. The editors will review all submitted proposals and notify applicants by August 30, 2026. Chapters should be approximately between 5000-8000 words, and first drafts of completed manuscripts will be due December 15, 2026. The expected publication date will be in 2027-2028.
Note: Acceptance of a proposed abstract does not guarantee the acceptance of the full
chapter. Chapters will undergo both editor and peer review.
About the Editors
Daniel Fandino (PhD) is the coordinator of the Digital Exploration Center at the University of Central Florida. He has previously co-edited a book on the Marvel cinematic universe for McFarland and has written articles on EVE Online and the history of computer gaming.
Cody Mejeur (They/them, PhD) is Assistant Professor of Media Study at University at Buffalo, SUNY, and Director of the Amatryx Gaming Lab & Studio there. They are currently the game director for Trans Folks Walking, a narrative game about trans experiences. They are an editor of Historiographies of Game Studies (punctum 2025), co-editor of the trans narratology special issue of the Narrative journal (2024), and have published numerous articles and book chapters in Games & Culture, Digital Humanities Quarterly, and Resilience: A Journal of the Environmental Humanities, among others.