At the moment, it isn't clear what's happening with Silent Hill. This long-running horror series was one of Konami's biggest gaming franchises, standing alongside the likes of Metal Gear and Bomberman. Having made its debut on the PlayStation 1, Silent Hill is known for its highly effective psychological horror and impressive visuals. Silent Hill 1, 2, and 3 are considered the series’ peak, while Silent Hill 4 and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories garnered some fans of their own. The franchise struggled to innovate after its original team went elsewhere, and many entries after Silent Hill 4 are not viewed favorably.
That downward spiral seems to have reached its bottom in the modern era. After a dream team consisting of Hideo Kojima, Guillermo del Toro, and Norman Reedus were revealed to be working on a soft reboot, titled Silent Hills, fans thought that Silent Hill was back. Unfortunately, this immediately preceded Kojima's firing from Konami, and the project, along with the beloved P.T. demo that announced it, were scrapped. Silent Hill was relegated to crossover content and pachinko advertising for the next few years. Something is happening over at Konami, however. There are compounding reports that Konami has put its franchises up for grabs, and several developers have already begun their own takes on Silent Hill.
Silent Hill May Be Invading Britain
Silent Hill rumors have been circulating for years, but they recently got a major boost. Leaker Dusk Golem came out on Twitter on May 12 with several concept images for a Silent Hill project, which were promptly taken down by copyright. This all but confirmed these details and gave credibility to the information that was leaked. Supposedly, these pictures are representative of an older version of the game, possibly one from 2020, but the title was still in development as of October 2021. Depicting garbage-filled rooms and a strange alleyway and figure apparently made of sticky notes, these serve as a surreal counterpart to the image that simply shows a bespectacled girl.
The final picture in the set of seven hints a little more at the game's story, showing a girl without glasses whose skin is peeling away like paper. A note saying "I hate myself," is clearly visible on her forehead, and the only other legible word is "minger" on her cheek. The word minger is British slang for an unattractive person, hinting that this new Silent Hill may be set in Europe, rather than the town’s vague North American origins.
Dusk Golem also mentioned the names Anita and Maya, noted that SMS messages were relevant somehow, and that this was not the only Silent Hill game in development. For a short time this seemed like all the fans would get, but this leak opened the channels for everyone with Silent Hill intel to talk.
Bloober Team Might Be Handling a Silent Hill 2 Remake
A couple other projects have been detailed by various sources. First mentioned by influencer NateTheHate, and later backed up by journalists Jeff Grubb and gaming news site Video Game Chronicle, the burgeoning horror-adventure studio Bloober Team is allegedly working on a Silent Hill 2 remake. This is said to be a timed PlayStation console exclusive, and will feature reworked puzzles, altered AI, new animations, and even several new endings. It sounds like this game could be a Final Fantasy 7 Remake-styled reimagining of Silent Hill 2, but fans will have to wait and see.
Either way, this rumor also lines up with the existing links between Bloober Team and Konami. Around the release of Bloober Team's most recent game The Medium, the Polish developer announced a collaboration with Konami. This came after the studio's CEO claimed it was working on an existing horror IP from a noteworthy publisher.
Silent Hill's iconic composer Akira Yamaoka worked on The Medium, and teased his next project by noting that it's one his fans have been waiting to hear about. Even The Medium itself draws parallels to Silent Hill's otherworld mechanic, making it come off like a proof-of-concept to seal the companies’ deal. It seems that if Konami’s canceled E3 2021 showcase came to pass, it would have brought a great many Silent Hill titles to bear.
An Episodic Silent Hill Project and Playable Teaser Could Be Coming
The narrative fans pieced together regarding Konami claims that after the Japanese publisher refocused on its gutted gaming division, it couldn't develop many projects by itself. While it released some smaller games and updates to the public, Konami secretly reached its feelers into the game industry at large, looking for any studio that could work with its acclaimed IP's. Past rumors have indicated that Until Dawn studio Supermassive was one of these studios, and its pitch for an episodic Silent Hill title evolved into the Dark Pictures anthology. However, that game concept was not abandoned.
According to VGC, a small, episodic series of short stories set in the Silent Hill universe may be coming from Annapurna Interactive. What this project is and who is working on it is unclear given that Annapurna Interactive is a publisher and may have just another name that pitched an idea to Konami. VGC had one last detail to close out its report: the images leaked by Dusk Golem may be related to a PT-style teaser game.
Internally named Sakura, this is to be released as a free digital title to build anticipation for either the next mainline Silent Hill or multiple Silent Hill projects. Whatever the truth is behind all of these rumors and leaks, it seems likely that Konami is ramping up towards a revival for its classic franchises. Hopefully, Silent Hill is coming back with a vengeance, and it brings Metal Gear and Castlevania along with it.