The voice actress behind Dead by Deadlight's newest DLC has asked fans to stop boycotting the game after initially criticising The Unknown killer skin, a character she alleges was tricked into voicing, for being "transphobic."
On March 12, DBD debuted its latest DLC, Chapter 31: All Things Wicked. This DLC included two cosmetic pieces: a new survivor named Sable Ward and The Unknown.
In her initial statement, the VA criticised Behaviour for keeping her out of the loop in regard to the character's look, alleging that this was with the intent of tricking the VA into "voicing a stereotype" and that the developers were "catering to the transphobic community."
The Unknown is a mysterious shapeshifter entity that can steal the voices of initial victims to lure in even more as they search for missing friends and family, according to the game's lore. The killer even features several different skins to reflect all The Unknown victims throughout the years.
Using the voice actress' talent, who used several vocal tones in her performance, Behaviour's original intent was to depict an entity capable of transforming into various gruesome figures, with multiple skins players can access to showcase this.
The voice actress initially misconstrued this as an allegory for transgender people as they didn't know the full details and backstory of The Unknown, referring to it as a "man in a dress" in her original statement.
In a follow-up on March 14 via Twitter, she explained that there was a misunderstanding, claiming that the skins themselves were never an issue, but Behaviour's lack of communication was.
I wasn’t kept in the loop with what the characters final look would be, I was given an ambiguous description for the part, and even though I tried my best to find out more, continually asking for more info, that wasn’t possible. This is why I was upset. The skins themselves were never the issue. Lack of communication was.
The VA would also vouch for Behaviour after first calling out the studio in her original statement for pandering to the transphobic community, explaining how a skin that's essentially a "man in a dress and having a trans voice actress voice it, would bring lots of money and people back to the game."
In her March 14 Twitter statement, she said:
Please STOP “Boycotting” Behavior. They are NOT transphobic, it’s wrong to take bits of info and jump to your own conclusions. Behavior is a good company, and has been nothing but kind and supporting through this tough process of receiving mass harassment for my involvement in the character.
Gfinity reached out to the developers, with a Behaviour Interactive spokesperson responding with the following statement:
Since our latest Chapter release, folks have taken it upon themselves to divert our work from its original purpose and use our newest Killer to target and harass players.
We want to say loudly and unequivocally that this malicious content and attitude is unacceptable and has no place in Dead by Daylight. This community should be a safe place where EVERYONE can find a true sense of belonging.
These people have also directly targeted the voice artist behind The Unknown, resulting in her being at the centre of hideous attacks. She is highly talented, and we were privileged to collaborate with her. Her voice acting experience is perfect for the character we were designing, which needed a wide range of voice tone and expert-level technique. The reception for The Unknown has been phenomenally positive and this is in big part thanks to her dedication and amazing work.
We will continue to express support to our voice actress, to all of our community members as well as standing actively against hate in our game.