Most Survivor lists are a wall of portraits with a name under each. This one is built for the two questions people actually have: who is in the game right now, and what does each one cost you. Every row carries the chapter, the three unique perks and the unlock route, in release order, checked against Behaviour's own roster on 8 November 2026, live Patch 10.2.2a.
Quick answer. Dead by Daylight has 53 Survivors you can still unlock today, per Behaviour's official character roster. Accounts that unlocked Laurie Strode before 19 January 2026 keep her, which makes 54 playable for them. On PC, 7 Survivors come with the base game, 25 are original Behaviour characters you can buy with Iridescent Shards, and 21 are licensed characters sold only for Auric Cells or real money. The newest is Aurora Stardotter (Chorus of Sin, 25 August 2026). The next is Sienna Shaw from the Terrifier Chapter, dated 24 November 2026 on Behaviour's chapters page.
How many Survivors are in Dead by Daylight in November 2026?
Fifty-three on the live build. That number has held since Aurora Stardotter arrived with Chapter 46 on 25 August 2026; the 10.2.x patches since then changed perks and Killers but added no Survivor.
The split matters more than the total:
| Type | Count | How you unlock them |
|---|---|---|
| Base game | 7 | Included with the game (PC) |
| Original (Behaviour-made) | 25 | Iridescent Shards, Auric Cells or a DLC purchase |
| Licensed (film, TV, games) | 21 | Auric Cells or a DLC purchase only |
| Total on the roster | 53 |
Those three numbers come straight from the inclusion field on each of the 53 Survivor records in Behaviour's roster data: 7 baseGame, 25 originalDLC and 21 franchiseDLC. Console editions can bundle more: Behaviour's PlayStation Plus announcement lists nine starting Survivors on PlayStation, adding Ace Visconti and Feng Min. The prices below are the PC baseline.
There is a 54th name you will see in other lists. Laurie Strode left the store with the HALLOWEEN Chapter in January 2026, and Behaviour's Patch 9.4.0 notes put it plainly: "The Shape, Laurie Strode and their respective outfits are no longer available in the store. These characters will remain playable for players who already had them unlocked." So 54 is right for accounts that had her before the 19 January 2026 cutoff, and 53 is right for everyone else.
What are all 53 Dead by Daylight Survivors and their perks?
Release order, oldest first. Chapter numbers are Behaviour's own (half numbers such as 11.5 are Behaviour's numbering, not ours). The unlock column follows the store rules explained in the shards section below.
| # | Survivor | Chapter (year) | Unique perks | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dwight Fairfield | Base game (2016) | Bond, Leader, Prove Thyself | Free |
| 2 | Meg Thomas | Base game (2016) | Adrenaline, Quick & Quiet, Sprint Burst | Free |
| 3 | Claudette Morel | Base game (2016) | Botany Knowledge, Empathy, Self-Care | Free |
| 4 | Jake Park | Base game (2016) | Calm Spirit, Iron Will, Saboteur | Free |
| 5 | Nea Karlsson | Ch. 1 The Last Breath (2016) | Balanced Landing, Streetwise, Urban Evasion | Free |
| 6 | Ace Visconti | Ch. 3 Of Flesh and Mud (2016) | Ace in the Hole, Open-Handed, Up the Ante | 2,250 IS / 125 AC |
| 7 | William "Bill" Overbeck | Ch. 3.5 Left Behind (2017) | Borrowed Time, Left Behind, Unbreakable | Free |
| 8 | Feng Min | Ch. 4 Spark of Madness (2017) | Alert, Lithe, Technician | 2,250 IS / 125 AC |
| 9 | David King | Ch. 5 A Lullaby for the Dark (2017) | Dead Hard, No Mither, We're Gonna Live Forever | Free |
| 10 | Quentin Smith | Ch. 6 A Nightmare on Elm Street (2017) | Pharmacy, Vigil, Wake Up! | 500 AC |
| 11 | Detective David Tapp | Ch. 7 Saw (2018) | Detective's Hunch, Stake Out, Tenacity | 500 AC |
| 12 | Kate Denson | Ch. 8 Curtain Call (2018) | Boil Over, Dance With Me, Windows of Opportunity | 2,250 IS / 125 AC |
| 13 | Adam Francis | Ch. 9 Shattered Bloodline (2018) | Autodidact, Deliverance, Diversion | 2,250 IS / 125 AC |
| 14 | Jeff Johansen | Ch. 10 Darkness Among Us (2018) | Aftercare, Breakdown, Distortion | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 15 | Jane Romero | Ch. 11 Demise of the Faithful (2019) | Head On, Poised, Solidarity | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 16 | Ashley J. Williams | Ch. 11.5 Ash vs. Evil Dead (2019) | Buckle Up, Flip-Flop, Mettle of Man | 500 AC |
| 17 | Steve Harrington | Ch. 13 Stranger Things (2019) | Babysitter, Camaraderie, Second Wind | 500 AC |
| 18 | Nancy Wheeler | Ch. 13 Stranger Things (2019) | Better Together, Fixated, Inner Strength | 500 AC |
| 19 | Yui Kimura | Ch. 14 Cursed Legacy (2019) | Any Means Necessary, Breakout, Lucky Break | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 20 | Zarina Kassir | Ch. 15 Chains of Hate (2020) | For the People, Off the Record, Red Herring | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 21 | Cheryl Mason | Ch. 16 Silent Hill (2020) | Blood Pact, Repressed Alliance, Soul Guard | 500 AC |
| 22 | Felix Richter | Ch. 17 Descend Beyond (2020) | Built to Last, Desperate Measures, Visionary | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 23 | Élodie Rakoto | Ch. 18 A Binding of Kin (2020) | Appraisal, Deception, Power Struggle | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 24 | Yun-Jin Lee | All-Kill (2021) | Fast Track, Smash Hit, Self-Preservation | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 25 | Jill Valentine | Ch. 20 Resident Evil (2021) | Blast Mine, Counterforce, Resurgence | 500 AC |
| 26 | Leon S. Kennedy | Ch. 20 Resident Evil (2021) | Bite the Bullet, Flashbang, Rookie Spirit | 500 AC |
| 27 | Mikaela Reid | Ch. 21.5 Hour of the Witch (2021) | Boon: Circle of Healing, Boon: Shadow Step, Clairvoyance | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 28 | Jonah Vasquez | Ch. 22 Portrait of a Murder (2021) | Boon: Exponential, Corrective Action, Overcome | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 29 | Yoichi Asakawa | Ch. 23 Sadako Rising (2022) | Boon: Dark Theory, Empathic Connection, Parental Guidance | 500 AC |
| 30 | Haddie Kaur | Ch. 24 Roots of Dread (2022) | Inner Focus, Overzealous, Residual Manifest | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 31 | Ada Wong | Ch. 25 Resident Evil: PROJECT W (2022) | Low Profile, Reactive Healing, Wiretap | 500 AC |
| 32 | Rebecca Chambers | Ch. 25 Resident Evil: PROJECT W (2022) | Better Than New, Hyperfocus, Reassurance | 500 AC |
| 33 | Vittorio Toscano | Ch. 26 Forged in Fog (2022) | Fogwise, Potential Energy, Quick Gambit | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 34 | Thalita Lyra | Ch. 27 Tools of Torment (2023) | Cut Loose, Friendly Competition, Teamwork: Power of Two | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 35 | Renato Lyra | Ch. 27 Tools of Torment (2023) | Background Player, Blood Rush, Teamwork: Collective Stealth | 4,500 IS / 250 AC |
| 36 | Gabriel Soma | Ch. 28 End Transmission (2023) | Made for This, Scavenger, Troubleshooter | 9,000 IS / 500 AC |
| 37 | Nicolas Cage | Ch. 28.5 Nicolas Cage (2023) | Dramaturgy, Plot Twist, Scene Partner | 500 AC |
| 38 | Ellen Ripley | Ch. 29 Alien (2023) | Chemical Trap, Light-Footed, Lucky Star | 500 AC |
| 39 | Alan Wake | Ch. 31 Alan Wake (2024) | Boon: Illumination, Champion of Light, Deadline | 500 AC |
| 40 | Sable Ward | Ch. 32 All Things Wicked (2024) | Invocation: Weaving Spiders, Strength in Shadows, Wicked | 9,000 IS / 500 AC |
| 41 | Aestri Yazar | Ch. 33 Dungeons & Dragons (2024) | Bardic Inspiration, Mirrored Illusion, Still Sight | 500 AC |
| 42 | Lara Croft | Ch. 34 Tomb Raider (2024) | Finesse, Hardened, Specialist | 500 AC |
| 43 | Trevor Belmont | Ch. 35 Castlevania (2024) | Exultation, Eyes of Belmont, Moment of Glory | 500 AC |
| 44 | Taurie Cain | Ch. 36 Doomed Course (2024) | Clean Break, Invocation: Treacherous Crows, Shoulder the Burden | 9,000 IS / 500 AC |
| 45 | Orela Rose | Ch. 38 Steady Pulse (2025) | Do No Harm, Duty of Care, Rapid Response | 9,000 IS / 500 AC |
| 46 | Rick Grimes | Ch. 40 The Walking Dead (2025) | Apocalyptic Ingenuity, Come and Get Me!, Teamwork: Toughen Up | 500 AC |
| 47 | Michonne | Ch. 40 The Walking Dead (2025) | Conviction, Last Stand, Teamwork: Throw Down | 500 AC |
| 48 | Vee Boonyasak | Ch. 41 Sinister Grace (2025) | Ghost Notes, ONE-TWO-THREE-FOUR!, Road Life | 9,000 IS / 500 AC |
| 49 | Dustin Henderson | Ch. 42 Stranger Things Chapter 2 (2026) | Bada Bada Boom, Change of Plan, Teamwork: Full Circuit | 500 AC |
| 50 | Eleven | Ch. 42 Stranger Things Chapter 2 (2026) | Extrasensory Perception, Teamwork: Soft-Spoken, We See You | 500 AC |
| 51 | Kwon Tae-young | Ch. 43 All-Kill: Comeback (2026) | A Place For Us, Five Moves Ahead, Flow State | 9,000 IS / 500 AC |
| 52 | Shane Wiigwaas | Ch. 45 The Life Road (2026) | Cross-Examination, Lend a Hand, Wide Open Throttle | 9,000 IS / 500 AC |
| 53 | Aurora Stardotter | Ch. 46 Chorus of Sin (2026) | Boon: Steadfast, Fruits of Your Labor, Salvation's Cry | 9,000 IS / 500 AC |
IS = Iridescent Shards, the currency you earn by playing. AC = Auric Cells, the paid currency. Every paid Survivor except Kwon Tae-young and Shane Wiigwaas can also be bought as a real-money DLC on Steam, either alone or inside a chapter or pack; our Dead by Daylight DLC guide has the current Steam price of every one.
Two small data notes so you do not trip on them elsewhere. Behaviour's roster carries a March 2026 date for Yun-Jin Lee, the month All-Kill: Comeback launched, but she arrived with the original All-Kill in March 2021, which Behaviour's own Comeback article confirms. And Nea, Bill and David arrived with early chapters, but Behaviour's roster now files all three under the base game. David is the one free Survivor you have to earn: the community wiki notes he unlocks by completing the Survivor Tutorial.
Who are the newest Survivors in Dead by Daylight?
2026 has been the busiest Survivor year in a while: five new faces between January and August.
- Dustin Henderson and Eleven (27 January 2026) came as a pair with Stranger Things Chapter 2, alongside The First. Our Stranger Things chapters guide covers both chapters.
- Kwon Tae-young (17 March 2026) arrived with All-Kill: Comeback and no new Killer. Behaviour's announcement names his perks as A Place For Us, Five Moves Ahead and Flow State, and says he "is voiced by K-Pop Demon Hunters star Kevin Woo".
- Shane Wiigwaas (25 June 2026) was a Survivor-only chapter. The Patch 10.0.1 notes give Wide Open Throttle as 10/12.5/15% Haste for 3 seconds when you fast-vault a Pallet; the Pallet is then reset and blocked for 60 seconds, all Survivors see its Aura, and the perk goes on a 60-second cooldown.
- Aurora Stardotter (25 August 2026) is the first Survivor picked by community vote, released with The Judgment in Chorus of Sin.
Kwon and Shane are also the two Survivors you will not find in Steam's DLC list for the game (checked 8 November 2026); on PC they are bought in the in-game store.
Who is the next Survivor in DBD?
Sienna Shaw, the final girl of the Terrifier films, joins with Art the Clown in Chapter 47. Behaviour's chapter record dates the release to 24 November 2026, 17:00 UTC, and the Terrifier Steam page lists the same day.
Behaviour's Terrifier announcement describes her three perks: "Best Gift Ever lets you drop items to gain powerful passive abilities. Whenever you take a protection hit, Shared Trauma allows all Survivors within 12 m to recover from the Exhausted status while running. After being chased by the Killer, Valkyrie's Rage lets you turn the tables by unleashing an extra-powerful pallet stun."
The 10.3.0 PTB notes add test-build numbers: Valkyrie's Rage needs 40/35/30 seconds of chase and then stuns the Killer 75% longer, and Shared Trauma's Exhausted recovery lasts 30/35/40 seconds. These are PTB values and can change before launch.
Sienna takes the roster to 54. She is a licensed character, so expect a 500 Auric Cell price and no Iridescent Shard option. Read our Art the Clown chapter page for the Killer half.
Which Survivors can you unlock with Iridescent Shards?
Only the 25 originals. Licensed Survivors have no shard price at all, which is why a free-to-grind player can own every Behaviour-made character and still be locked out of Leon, Ripley or Lara Croft.
The community wiki's Auric Cells page sets out the store rule: "All Characters (both 'original' and 'licensed') can be bought for 500 Auric Cells. Older Original Characters (up to and including CHAPTER 27: Tools of Torment) are discounted to 250 Auric Cells. Even older Original Characters (up to and including CHAPTER 9: Shattered Bloodline) are discounted to 125 Auric Cells." The shard prices follow the same ladder at 9,000, 4,500 and 2,250.
| Price band | Survivors | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 2,250 IS / 125 AC | Ace, Feng, Kate, Adam | 4 |
| 4,500 IS / 250 AC | Jeff, Jane, Yui, Zarina, Felix, Élodie, Yun-Jin, Mikaela, Jonah, Haddie, Vittorio, Thalita, Renato | 13 |
| 9,000 IS / 500 AC | Gabriel, Sable, Taurie, Orela, Vee, Kwon, Shane, Aurora | 8 |
| 500 AC only | All 21 licensed Survivors | 21 |
Do the sum and the shard bill for every original is 9,000 + 58,500 + 72,000 = 139,500 Iridescent Shards. That is a long road, which is why the order you buy in matters. Our Iridescent Shards guide shows how many you earn per level. The newest originals are priced by the same rule, but check the tile in your own store before you spend.
Why does buying a Survivor unlock perks for everyone?
Because of Prestige. Taking a Survivor to Prestige 1 unlocks their three unique perks at Tier I for every other Survivor you own; Prestige 2 and 3 upgrade them to Tier II and Tier III on everyone.
That changes how you should read the table above. You are not really buying a character, you are buying three teachable perks plus a skin. A 2,250-shard Kate Denson gets Windows of Opportunity onto your whole roster; a 2,250-shard Adam Francis gets Deliverance.
For licensed perks there is a side door. The Shrine of Secrets sells four perks a week for shards, including licensed ones, so Hyperfocus or Made for This can turn up without buying Rebecca or Gabriel. Our Shrine of Secrets page tracks the current rotation.
What happened to Laurie Strode?
She was removed from the store on 19 January 2026 when the HALLOWEEN Chapter was retracted, and the change was recorded in Patch 9.4.0. Owners keep her and her perks under the old names. Everyone else got her three perks as General Perks under new names:
- Decisive Strike became Will to Live
- Object of Obsession became Bound by Obsession
- Sole Survivor became Down to the Last
So if a build guide tells you to run Decisive Strike and you cannot find it, search Will to Live. It is the same perk with a different label, and it is already in your Bloodweb.
Which Survivor should you buy first?
Our recommendation: buy for perks, not looks, and start cheap. These three give the most perk value per shard in our view:
- Kate Denson (2,250 IS) for Windows of Opportunity, which Behaviour's Global Stats for January to June 2026 name as Europe's most-picked Survivor perk.
- Feng Min (2,250 IS) for Lithe, a chase perk that pairs with every build.
- Jeff Johansen (4,500 IS) for Distortion, the standard answer to aura-reading Killers.
If you are spending money instead, our licensed picks are Rebecca Chambers (Hyperfocus, Better Than New) and Aestri Yazar (Bardic Inspiration). Players are noticing the pairing too: an r/deadbydaylight post on 8 November 2026 was titled "I just tried Bardic Inspiration + Hyperfocus combo and it's kinda insane".
Popularity is a different list. Behaviour's 10-year anniversary stats, covering launch to 30 April 2026, name Meg Thomas the most-picked Survivor of all time at 1,108,148,399 picks, and record 5,077,386,489 Survivors sacrificed against 3,642,287,469 escaped. By our calculation, escapes are 41.77% of those two totals combined. For a ranking by strength rather than picks, see our Survivor tier list and the best Survivor perks tier list.
Building a full Dead by Daylight roster? These guides cover the other half of the decision.
- All Dead by Daylight Killers list
- Dead by Daylight DLC prices and what to buy first
- Iridescent Shards: how to get them per level
- Auric Cells pack prices
FAQ
How many Survivors are in Dead by Daylight? 53 on Behaviour's roster as of 8 November 2026 (Patch 10.2.2a). Accounts that still own Laurie Strode have 54. Sienna Shaw takes the roster itself to 54 on 24 November 2026.
Who is the newest Survivor in DBD? Aurora Stardotter, released with Chorus of Sin on 25 August 2026. Before her came Shane Wiigwaas (25 June 2026) and Kwon Tae-young (17 March 2026).
Which Survivors are free in Dead by Daylight? On PC, seven: Dwight Fairfield, Meg Thomas, Claudette Morel, Jake Park, Nea Karlsson, Bill Overbeck and David King (unlocked by finishing the Survivor Tutorial). Every other Survivor is bought with shards, Auric Cells or a DLC. The PlayStation edition also includes Ace Visconti and Feng Min, per Behaviour.
Can you buy licensed Survivors with Iridescent Shards? No. Licensed Survivors such as Leon, Ripley, Lara Croft or Nicolas Cage are Auric Cells or real money only. Their perks can still appear in the weekly Shrine of Secrets for shards.
Is Laurie Strode still in Dead by Daylight? Only for players who unlocked her before the HALLOWEEN Chapter left the store in January 2026. Her perks live on for everyone as Will to Live, Bound by Obsession and Down to the Last.
Do Survivors have different abilities? Each Survivor brings three unique perks, and Prestige 1 to 3 teaches those perks to your other Survivors. Beyond the perks, the choice is mostly cosmetic.
