IllFonic on Halloween: Jared Gerritzen says comparison with Dead by Daylight is too simple

The studio says it builds licensed horror games around each individual franchise. IllFonic points to earlier titles such as Friday the 13th, Predator: Hunting Grounds, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed and Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

The source does not provide a full gameplay list or a mechanical comparison between Halloween and Dead by Daylight. What is clear is that IllFonic rejects the parallel itself and presents the project as its own take on asymmetrical horror gameplay.

What happened

GameSpot published an article on September 21, 2026 in which Jared Gerritzen responded to comparisons between IllFonic’s upcoming Halloween game and Behaviour Interactive’s Dead by Daylight. According to the report, Gerritzen said the comparison is an easy one to make, but too simplistic. The source summarizes his response as a rejection of the idea that both games are designed in the same way.

In the same interview, Gerritzen explains that IllFonic does not make its licensed titles using a fixed formula. Instead, he says the games are tailored to the specific franchise and its fans, rather than built around a generic multiplayer approach. He ties that philosophy to earlier studio projects, including Friday the 13th, Predator: Hunting Grounds, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed and Killer Klowns from Outer Space, all of which are mentioned in the same coverage as examples of IllFonic’s work with well-known licenses.

The cricket-versus-baseball comparison is the most concrete example from the interview. Gerritzen uses the analogy to show that two games can appear similar at first glance while still being fundamentally different underneath. The source does not provide a full breakdown of gameplay systems, but it does make clear that IllFonic does not see the Dead by Daylight parallel as an accurate summary of Halloween.

The available source also does not mention a release window, platform list or detailed feature breakdown for Halloween. As a result, it remains unclear which specific mechanical differences IllFonic considers most important. What is clear is that the studio is positioning the project as its own interpretation of asymmetrical horror gameplay, rather than as a direct copy of Behaviour Interactive’s formula.

Background

Halloween fits into the wave of asymmetrical multiplayer horror games that has grown popular over the past decade. Dead by Daylight is one of the best-known examples in the genre, but IllFonic says its own licensed games are built around each individual franchise. The studio points to a string of earlier projects with recognizable horror and film brands, including Friday the 13th and Predator: Hunting Grounds.

IllFonic has already worked on several licensed titles, and that background is explicitly linked to Halloween in the coverage. The source also names Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed and Killer Klowns from Outer Space as additional examples of that approach. Together, they paint a portfolio in which each project is shaped around the franchise and its fanbase, according to Gerritzen.

What the source does not explain is how that philosophy translates into concrete systems in Halloween. There are no player-count details, no mode list and no comparison with specific Dead by Daylight mechanics. That leaves Gerritzen’s core message largely positional: IllFonic does not want Halloween to be reduced to a simple repeat of an existing asymmetrical horror formula.

The coverage does make clear that comparisons are easy to draw in a genre like this. That is why, according to GameSpot, Gerritzen stresses that a surface-level similarity is not enough to equate two games. His cricket-versus-baseball analogy is the central quote from the interview and forms the basis of IllFonic’s response to the Dead by Daylight comparison.

Sources

• GameSpot: “Comparing Games Like Halloween To Dead By Daylight Doesn't Make Sense ...”