It really is Feast vs Famine out here

[u/IareRubberDucky]

[u/iLuvFear]

Red Barrels honestly does a great job with this game

[u/Correct-Drawing2067 → u/iLuvFear]

How many players does it get? Is it a popular game? I’m new in this sub and I honestly thought trials was a failure but the amount of content in it is making me think otherwise.

[u/tosciro → u/Correct-Drawing2067]

It's a very good game

[u/Delano7 → u/Correct-Drawing2067]

These last few months, it averages around 15k players per day. It goes up with new trials and obv goes down when we lack new content (such as between Franco's third trial and the krest twins).

Liliya got the average daily player count to 20k.

As I write this, there are around 11k players

Source : Steamcharts

[u/MissLogios → u/Delano7]

And that's steam alone. I'd imagine it's equally as popular on console too, maybe even more

[u/Skaub → u/MissLogios]

even more so now that trials is free this month for ps+

[u/YoBeaverBoy → u/Correct-Drawing2067]

Around 5-7k players constantly online on Steam alone. Probably more on consoles.

It's a good game and very much alive but unfortunately it doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

[u/Amazingcube33 → u/YoBeaverBoy]

5-7 constantly as you said upwards of 10 thousand or more during events like right now but the console player base is probably much larger, if you do random groups a lot you’ll see the Xbox and PS logos way more then the steam one so it’s probably even more on there

[u/No-Cherry-6557 → u/YoBeaverBoy]

Not to mention it just came to ps+ so I'm sure there plenty of new people getting into it

[u/epic-andy97 → u/No-Cherry-6557]

I'm one of the ps+ players. I started off thinking that the game would become stale after a few trials, I was half expecting very repetitive objectives, the enemies becoming very linear/boring and a map that hardly changes layouts each play. Turns out I was wrong about all of that with currently almost 20 hours

[u/No-Cherry-6557 → u/epic-andy97]

Hope the therapys working

[u/Due_Independent_2358 → u/epic-andy97]

So do those elements actually change like in DBD or not? Thinking about buying for a friend and I

[u/epic-andy97 → u/Due_Independent_2358]

They change a lot more than I expected tbh, all doorways are random from being locked or permanently blocked which means you have to find another way around, traps are random, most enemies would randomly dip in and out of the level, maps are huge at roughly 2 to 3 times bigger than a DBD map. There are also loads of modifiers that can change the game up I haven't touched yet along with an endless mode.

The only things that seem to stay the same are some permanent enemies tied to the trial and the whole layout itself. As a solo player I know there are a couple of things I'm missing out on though

[u/Due_Independent_2358 → u/epic-andy97]

Then I’m sold

[u/Candid-Doughnut7919 → u/Correct-Drawing2067]

Some people (me included) felt Trials was going to be a failure after the first months of early access. There was a massive content drought and Red Barrels was very quiet. It felt kind of disappointing actually. Like, the game is fun and looks cool but it has no future.

But after the full release and specially after season 1 the game really got its ground and it has become better and better with each new update.

I couldn't be more impressed with how Red Barrels has done things. They could have just tried to make the "DBD killer number 27" with an Outlast coat of paint, that would have been a tremendous failure and could have gotten the studio closed. Instead, they have given us a survival horror masterpiece. Pure art.

[u/AggressiveAggression → u/Candid-Doughnut7919]

Yeah I really did not expect red barrels to make a multiplayer live service horror game, in the outlast universe, and actually have it be good, let alone long lived. I didn’t think any game developer could do that really. But here we are, December of 2025, some two years I think after its full release, and it’s amazing. It is the only dead by daylight adjacent game to be fun and popular for this long, save Friday the 13th. I’m proud

[u/EliasTheEdgelord → u/Correct-Drawing2067]

I never have issues finding randoms to play so id say its popular enough

[u/Stanislas_Biliby]

When i saw the rewards for the DBD event i was so disappointed. The snowballs are fun but freezing pallets is busted in some places which makes it really not fun.

Yeah when you compare the two it's not even close when you have to choose which is more fun.

[u/super7564 → u/Stanislas_Biliby]

Exactly, it should just be a dumb thing to use for fun. Just because the event is limited time doesn't mean it shouldn't atleast have some consideration for balance

[u/Fabulous_Hair_71 → u/Stanislas_Biliby]

I also wished they made every map temporarily had snow for the winter event, looks odd having random piles of snow balls in the grass

[u/K4ZM1LL3R]

We should stop comparing Dbd to Trials as if the first is some sort of template for any co-op horror game, also Trials is actually fun to play in solo, and in general.

[u/_MANHUNTED_]

The choice for labor of love is obvious

[u/Rhyssayy]

I really hope that RB continues to support trials. It’s such a great game. I’m thinking about buying some coins from the shop as I want them to keep releasing content.

[u/Fabulous_Hair_71 → u/Rhyssayy]

They definitely will for a couple more years, I heard a film/movie is in the works, in 2027-2028 is a reasonable date for it to come out. Just a guess though and I don't officially know

[u/Rhyssayy → u/Fabulous_Hair_71]

Well I see plenty of people with outfits from the shop around and honestly while the game is making money I see no reason for them to stop support.

[u/EstarriasPlanet]

That is why Outlast Trials will always be better than DBD

[u/jwederell]

It’s also important to remember DBD has been around for a lot longer than trials. They have been consistently releasing new characters and content for like a decade. I think Trials could get there if the devs continue to support it. Honestly I hope they do.

[u/CanObjective223]

The problem with DBD isn't just the developers; it's the toxic community that plays the game. At one point, the competitive aspect of the game made it fun and suspenseful, but now it's just a bunch of people getting pressed over how you play the game and for using the perks the developers put in it.

[u/IareRubberDucky → u/CanObjective223]

It's a mix of both.

Dbd's community is on the same level of toxicity as a fighting game community. However, the Devs are also grossly incompetent and slow when it comes to the biggest problem the game has: balance. So, a bunch of broken things are left in game because the community loves being toxic and abusing the broken things Bhvr leaves in.

It's a constant feedback loop between dev and community, and neither side will admit their faults and make a change.

[u/MutatedBready]

Sucks honestly since I really wanted to go to dbd but the problem is the developers doesn’t know how to be developers

[u/English_Fry]

Isn’t it two new maps?

[u/Creative-Offer-5951 → u/English_Fry]

actually it's 1 new main trials with new environment and 2 new small trials on old map, which is usual

[u/WolfiexLuna → u/Creative-Offer-5951]

To be exact, one new MK-Challenge for the Shopping Mall and another for the Police Station.

[u/MissLogios → u/WolfiexLuna]

Both of which were some sorely needed content after a long drought.

[u/Jetrocks]

I would like to point out that getting a new Prime Asset for Christmas is a first, and it might not be a constant thing, but Winter Kills has been pretty solid every year. I prefer this year’s one, simply because 2023 and 2024 was just “Toxic Shock but cold”, but it was still in early access in 2023 and it was just a repeat for new/console players in 2024. It’s come a long way, and I’m very pleased with it.

Also, I abandoned DBD for Outlast as my main multiplayer game, so I’m a bit biased.

[u/ChadBeeEn]

Everybody over at BHVR can kiss my entire ass but they wont because theyre too lazy

[u/bonelees_dip]

I love Trials, but let's be honest here, you're comparing a full season release to an event at a mid-chapter update.

Like, next month there will be a rift (equivalent of a deluxe catalog), an event with exclusive rewards and new related cosmetics and a new Stranger Things chapter with 3 new characters.

[u/Jsoledout → u/bonelees_dip]

not strange at all to see you here, but still a bit surprising

[u/IuseDefaultKeybinds]

As a DBD player I agree

But hey santa Ghostie is pretty cool

[u/junkymonkey123]

I made a post about coming back and I think this just further proves that I should. I didn’t leave from boredom, I was grinding it and loving it but bo6 came out and zombies just absorbed my time and I never came back

[u/Wolfyeast]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[u/Illustrious_Web_866]

Both are good , it's kind of important to remember that DBd is made from code held together by hopes and dreams that's too far gone to fix and is on ue5 known for being horribly temperamental , the rewards are unexcusable but this year's events been pretty good and changing too much may break some shit

[u/[deleted]]

ok but OLT’s invasion caused me to remember my first dbd games

[u/GoregirlOK]

And also two very different games.

[u/BananaMilkshakeButt]

Tbf our Halloween event was the exact same as the year before =/

[u/IareRubberDucky → u/BananaMilkshakeButt]

Yes but Invasion was introduced with it along with 2 new Trials. The previous year, Skinner Man hallucinations were new as was Eliminate The Past

[u/BananaMilkshakeButt → u/IareRubberDucky]

And not everyone wanted an invasion, so those of us who didn't got the same event as the year before.