That’s not to say that there aren’t elements of The Strangers DNA that show up in The Strangers: Prey at Night.
James and Kristen were still definitely murdered in this world; Prey at Night just doesn’t go out of its way to say anything about it because it’s not germane to the story the sequel wants to tell.
Moreover, Johannes Roberts also made a point to note to CinemaBlend that this is definitely the same group of killers seen in the first film, rather than a group of Scream-esque copycats.
Even from the sequel’s earliest trailers, it’s clear to see that The Strangers are using many of the same hunting techniques that they implemented in the first film, such as knocking on the door before the attack and drawing on the windows.