Behaviour Interactive has officially brought NieR: Automata into Dead by Daylight. The crossover puts 2B, A2, and Emil into The Fog, and even though androids versus machines sounds like a very different world from endless Trials, the two games have more in common than it first looks.
What the NieR: Automata Collection actually includes
The NieR: Automata Collection is available in Dead by Daylight right now, and it covers both sides of the match:
- 2B arrives as a Legendary Outfit for Feng Min.
- A2 arrives as a Legendary Outfit for Yui Kimura.
- The Legion gets a Very Rare Outfit inspired by Emil, including his oversized round head and permanent grin.
Both Survivor outfits turn Feng Min and Yui Kimura into the battle-hardened YoRHa androids, while the Killer side gets the genuinely unsettling option of chasing you around a dark map wearing Emil’s smiling face.
It’s a cosmetic Collection, not a new Chapter
This is the part worth being clear about before you spend anything: the crossover is a cosmetic Collection, not Dead by Daylight’s next Chapter. That means 2B and A2 are not standalone Survivors with their own perks, and Emil is not a new Killer. You’re buying looks, not new gameplay tools, so nothing here shifts the meta.
Why NieR: Automata fits The Fog
Creative Director Dave Richard pointed to the thematic link between the two universes, describing both as dealing with “cycles of violence and suffering.” NieR: Automata isn’t horror in the traditional sense, but its world is bleak and frequently surreal: 2B and A2 live through a loop of war, death, loss, and questions about what it means to be human. Dead by Daylight traps its cast in its own loop of suffering with no permanent way out. Emil, meanwhile, barely needs a reinterpretation – that fixed smile was already uncomfortable long before The Legion put it on.
Dead by Daylight keeps widening what counts as horror
Over the past decade, Dead by Daylight has become one of gaming’s biggest crossover hubs, with licensed content from Resident Evil, Alien, and Stranger Things feeling like a natural fit. More recently, Behaviour has clearly been willing to look past conventional horror whenever another franchise has characters or themes that can be twisted into something darker – and NieR: Automata is one of the strongest examples yet.
The timing also lines up neatly. NieR: Automata launched in 2017 and has stayed one of Square Enix’s most recognizable titles thanks to its combat, soundtrack, and philosophical story, while Dead by Daylight is now more than ten years into its life. Both have outlasted most of their contemporaries, largely because their player bases never left.
Where to go next
You can find the details and platform links on the official Dead by Daylight site, and we collect every update, Chapter, and crossover in our Dead by Daylight news hub.
FAQ
2B is a Legendary Outfit for Feng Min, A2 is a Legendary Outfit for Yui Kimura, and The Legion receives a Very Rare Outfit inspired by Emil.
No. The NieR: Automata Collection is purely cosmetic, so 2B and A2 are outfits for existing Survivors and bring no unique perks.
No. Emil appears only as an outfit for The Legion, not as a separate Killer.
No. It’s a Collection rather than a Chapter, which means no new map, Killer, or Survivor comes with it.
Yes, the NieR: Automata Collection is already live in Dead by Daylight.