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Behaviour Interactive

Canada's largest independent game studio, built on a no-crunch promise

Behaviour started in Montréal in 1992 and grew into the studio behind Dead by Daylight, a horror franchise approaching 70 million players. It has stayed independent and founder-led, uses minority investment to buy studios like Red Hook, and keeps telling its 1,200 people they will not be asked to crunch.

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01 · Culture

How they work

Our viewBehaviour states its work-life stance plainly: it says it avoids crunch "at all costs" and promises the industry without "the crazy hours". Employees back that up, with 92% telling Great Place to Work it is a great place to work. That earned a run of Best Workplaces titles, including #8 among large employers in Canada in 2024. A structured hybrid week, generous time off and a C$2-million gift to Concordia show the studio investing in people inside and beyond its walls.

Recognition

In their words

“We promote work-life balance and avoid crunch at all costs.”
— Behaviour values, About page source ↗
“Our team proves every day that it’s possible to be incredibly talented without the over-sized egos.”
— Behaviour values, About page source ↗
“You get to work in one of the most booming industries out there, without putting in the crazy hours.”
— Behaviour jobs page source ↗
“Behaviour continues to grow significantly in both size and scale. It is imperative that the company's leadership structure evolve to reflect this growth.”
— Rémi Racine, co-founder and CEO source ↗

In practice

  • Structured hybrid weekStaff work from home on Mondays and Fridays and in the studio Tuesday to Thursday. (2026) source ↗
  • Anti-crunch commitmentAvoiding crunch is written into the company's stated values alongside a commitment to deliver on time and on budget. (2026) source ↗
  • Wellness and remote-work reimbursementsEvery employee gets a reimbursement program for wellness, gaming, transportation or work-from-home expenses, plus group insurance and a group retirement savings plan. (2026) source ↗
  • Freedom to createEmployees are explicitly free to work on their own projects outside work on personal time. (2026) source ↗
  • Talent pipeline philanthropyA C$2-million gift to Concordia University funds a research chair in Design and Computation Arts and student financial aid for future game-industry careers. (2023) source ↗
  • Employee trust score92% of employees say Behaviour is a great place to work, against 62% at a typical company. (2024) source ↗

02 · Capabilities

What they do best

Our viewBehaviour runs three businesses: original games led by Dead by Daylight, co-development for major publishers, and immersive location-based entertainment. Its edge is live operations: its own backend technology and data-driven teams that have kept a 2016 game growing for a decade, with a feature film on the way.

~1,200Employees2026 source ↗
~70 millionDead by Daylight players2026 source ↗
Montréal (HQ), Vancouver, Toronto, Rotterdam, United KingdomStudios2026 source ↗
200+Games released since 19922024 source ↗

Live-service horror franchise

Dead by Daylight has reached nearly 70 million players since its 2016 launch; Blumhouse and Atomic Monster are producing a film adaptation. source ↗

Co-development for major publishers

Behaviour provides full- and co-development services for partners including Microsoft, Sony, EA, Warner, Netflix and Take-Two. source ↗

Proprietary live-ops technology

Its own backend technology runs live across multiple games and platforms, supported by an internal Live Operations group of product managers, data analysts and community managers. source ↗

Immersive entertainment

It builds location-based experiences with partners, including Blade Runner EXPOSITION with PHI Studio. source ↗

03 · Capital

Who backs them, and what they back

Venture-backed

Our viewBehaviour is privately held and still led by co-founder Rémi Racine. In early 2022 it sold a minority stake to existing shareholder NetEase and new investor Haveli Investments to fund growth through acquisitions. It has since used that capital to assemble a horror-focused publishing slate, including Red Hook Studios, the makers of Darkest Dungeon.

Funding

DateRoundAmountInvestors
2022Minority equity investmentUndisclosedNetEase Interactive Entertainment (existing shareholder), Haveli Investments source ↗

Capital they deploy

  • Acquisition of Red Hook StudiosBought the Vancouver studio behind Darkest Dungeon and Darkest Dungeon II (7+ million copies sold combined) to build a horror publishing portfolio. · 2024-09 source ↗
  • Acquisition of SockMonkey StudiosAcquired SockMonkey Studios (listed as Osler representative work alongside the 2022 financing). · not confirmed source ↗
  • Concordia University giftC$2 million for a research chair and student financial aid tied to the video game industry. · 2023-05 source ↗
What we could not confirm (3)
  • No Great Place to Work list placements found for 2025–2026; the certification page lists 2022–2024 only.
  • Revenue is not published. Epic Games Store coverage (June 2026) cites 2025 as Dead by Daylight's best year and revenue up 50%+, but this was not confirmed at a primary source.
  • Exact year of the SockMonkey acquisition: listed as related Osler work, date not confirmed.

Checked 2026-10-05

Why it matters in Montréal

Canada's largest independent game developer (Dead by Daylight), Montréal-headquartered.

Nearly 1,300 employees across Montréal, Toronto, Seattle, UK and Netherlands; announced Montréal layoffs in 2026.

Employees: ~1,300

Source: Behaviour Interactive – About

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