Why do dbd servers keep crashing

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Last updated: April 8, 2026

Quick Answer: Dead by Daylight servers experience crashes primarily due to server overload from high player counts, with peak concurrent players exceeding 100,000 on Steam alone. Technical issues like memory leaks in game updates, such as those reported after the 6.7.0 patch in 2023, and DDoS attacks targeting Behavior Interactive's infrastructure are common causes. These crashes disrupt gameplay for millions of players across PC, consoles, and mobile platforms, leading to temporary server outages and matchmaking failures.

Key Facts

Dead by Daylight has over 60 million players worldwide as of 2023
The game experienced a major server outage in July 2022 affecting all platforms for 12+ hours
Steam charts show peak concurrent player counts regularly exceeding 100,000
Behavior Interactive uses Amazon Web Services for server infrastructure
The game receives major content updates every 3 months that sometimes introduce stability issues

Overview

Dead by Daylight (DbD) is an asymmetric survival horror game developed by Behavior Interactive and published by Starbreeze Studios, first released in June 2016. The game pits four survivors against one killer in various horror-themed maps, with gameplay requiring constant server communication for real-time actions, hit detection, and progression tracking. As of 2023, the game has surpassed 60 million players across PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and mobile platforms. The game's popularity surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, with concurrent player counts increasing by 40% in 2020-2021. Behavior Interactive maintains dedicated servers in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia using Amazon Web Services infrastructure, with the company investing $15 million in server upgrades between 2020-2022 to handle growing demand.

How It Works

DbD servers crash through several interconnected mechanisms: First, server overload occurs when player counts exceed infrastructure capacity, particularly during new content releases or special events when thousands of simultaneous matchmaking requests flood the system. Second, technical bugs in game updates can cause memory leaks or infinite loops in server code - for example, the 6.7.0 update in 2023 introduced a bug that caused servers to consume excessive RAM until crashing. Third, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks target Behavior Interactive's network infrastructure, overwhelming servers with malicious traffic. Fourth, database corruption can occur when player data synchronization fails during high-traffic periods. The game uses a client-server architecture where all critical gameplay decisions (hits, escapes, item usage) are validated server-side to prevent cheating, meaning any server instability immediately affects all connected players. When crashes occur, the matchmaking system typically fails first, followed by game instance servers becoming unresponsive.

Why It Matters

Server stability directly impacts DbD's player experience and revenue, as the game relies on in-game purchases for cosmetics and the Chapter DLC model. Each major server outage results in significant player frustration, negative reviews on platforms like Steam, and temporary drops in active player counts. For competitive players, crashes during ranked matches can mean lost progression and rewards. The game's esports scene, including the Dead by Daylight Championship Series with $1 million prize pools, depends entirely on server reliability. From a business perspective, Behavior Interactive reported $200 million in annual revenue in 2022, with server stability being crucial for maintaining this income stream. The company faces constant pressure to balance rapid content updates (releasing new killers and survivors every 3 months) with server maintenance, creating an ongoing challenge for their development and operations teams.