One of horror cinema’s most iconic slashers has finally arrived in the game. Jason is coming to Dead by Daylight, just in time for the title’s tenth-anniversary celebration. Let’s take an early look at his abilities, his ‘perks,’ and examine the ‘skins’ that may not be what fans of the character were hoping for.
Although the official release date for this new Killer’s chapter is Tuesday, June 16, 2026, Jason is already available on the PTB (Public Test Build) or test server, allowing us to get a preview of how he will play. Below, we detail his gameplay mechanics.
Jason’s Abilities in DbD
POWER: OMNIPRESENT EVIL
The Slasher becomes invisible and gains the Undetectable status, but cannot see Survivors or their scratch marks. Fog clouds reveal the locations of Survivors who are not moving. Footprints reveal the trails of Survivors who are walking or running. This power is canceled when using ‘Sudden Fright.’
SPECIAL ABILITY: SUDDEN FRIGHT
While Omnipresent Evil is active, look towards a pallet, breakable wall, or window to quickly lunge towards it and perform a special action to break or vault the obstacle. The Secondary Action button changes the direction you face when performing Sudden Fright. Using this ability ends the Omnipresent Evil mode, grants Haste, and reveals Survivors detected by Killer Instinct.
SPECIAL ABILITY: THROWING SPIKES
Pick up a Spike from a Scrap Pile or Hooks. Hold the Secondary Action button to prepare the Spike and press the Attack button to throw it. Spikes replenish around the map when Omnipresent Evil is active. A Spike will push back a Survivor and inflict a health state of damage. Survivors will become Impaled if hit with a Hook Spike. They will not be able to heal beyond the injured state, and the embedded Spike will have a visible Aura for the Killer. Injured Survivors will become both Impaled and Exhausted if hit by a Spike and launched against a wall.
Jason’s Perks
CURSE: TERRIFIED TO DEATH
After hooking 3 different Survivors, a Dull Totem lights up. While in a chase with a Survivor, every time you perform a basic breaking action on a pallet, Survivors within 13 meters will scream and gain an 11/12/13% Hindered status for 3 seconds.
SILENT SHADOW
When the match begins, you gain Undetectable for 11/12/13 seconds or until you down a Survivor. When all Generators are completed, you gain Undetectable.
DISTURBANCE
Each time you perform a basic breaking action on a pallet or breakable wall, you gain 1 token, up to a maximum of 13. Each time you are blinded or stunned by a pallet, for the next 13 seconds, you gain 1% Haste for each token. Cooldown: 30/25/20 seconds.
Jason’s Skins in Dead by Daylight
When Jason’s chapter becomes available, DLCs will be released with three outfits for Jason: Forest Terror, Forbidden Death, and Depths of Despair.
While it’s quite clear these are inspired by the Jasons from Friday the 13th Part II, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, and Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, they aren’t exactly the same. Where is the Jason with the burlap sack over his head? Where is Jason X? Where is the Jason with the purple tracksuit from the NES game?
The issue, as we mentioned when reporting the news, is that the rights to Friday the 13th are subject to a complicated dispute, which is why Dead by Daylight‘s collaboration is with “Jason Universe,” not directly with the film saga. In fact, Behaviour clarified that the Jason in the game is a different version from the films and does not share his story. This likely means they cannot use the specific appearances he had in the movies.
We hope that over time, we will see outfits featuring the alternative versions of Jason that we love from the films. For now, we will have to make do with these skins.
Dead by Daylight is an asymmetric multiplayer horror game available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.
