Keiichiro Toyama, creator of the Silent Hill and Gravity Rush series, recently announced his departure from Sony Computer Entertainment Japan to establish Bokeh Game Studio. The team is composed of many ex-PlayStation developers, including Siren and The Last Guardian producer Kazunobu Sato, and is yet another major departure from Sony's native first-party studio. While the announcement of Toyama's departure broke the spirits of a lot of fans hoping he was working on PlayStation 5 exclusive Silent Hill title, fans of the horror series should not write off Toyama's next project, as he has announced that it will be his return to the horror genre.
Toyama announced his departure from SIE Japan Studio earlier this month, however Bokeh Game Studios was actually founded in back in August, marking the end of Toyama's 20-year run at Japan Studio working on titles such as Siren and Gravity Rush. Toyama got started in the games industry in 1994 at Konami working on titles such as Hideo Kojima's Snatcher. Toyama would later go on to become the director of the very first Silent Hill game and leader of Team Silent, before he departed Konami shortly afterwards to join SIE Japan Studio where he developed the Siren series. Following this, Toyama created the cult classic Gravity Rush series for PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 before leaving the studio.
Speaking with IGN, Toyama announced that Bokeh Game Studios' first title would be "an action-adventure game that will appeal to fans of my previous work." Speaking to the game's themes, Toyama stated "If anything, this will be more of a horror-oriented game. But we will focus on making this a broader entertainment experience, rather than a hardcore horror game." He also confirmed that while the studio is developing the game primarily for PC as of now, he intends to "release the game on as many console platforms as possible." Toyama also revealed that while the game is only in prototype development currently, he expects the game to release in 2023.
During the interview, Toyama revealed that he decided to leave SIE Japan Studio after turning 50 years old earlier this year and as a result of working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. He claims he "took a lot of inspiration from genDESIGN," the studio founded by Ico and Shadow of the Colossus director Fumito Ueda, which was formed during the development of The Last Guardian. "Ueda told me so much about his experiences that it inspired me to follow suit."
While it sounds like Bokeh Game Studio is still a long way out from release, and with no confirmation of Silent Hill's return despite ever-persisting rumors, fans of Toyama's work now have another of the creator's horror works to anticipate, with Toyama promising that there will be many teasers throughout the coming years. As for the Silent Hill series, while some fans still hold out hope, and rumors still persist despite the lack of any official announcements, it seems very unlikely that Toyama will return to the series, as Bokeh Game Studios seems like the famed director carving out a new beginning for himself and other ex-SIE Japan Studio staff.
Source: IGN