It's finally June, and video game news is rapidly appearing. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and Sonic Frontiers both opened the month strong alongside a Warhammer live stream. The very next day, Sony hosted a State of Play. One week after that, the Summer Game Fest kickoff will air and the series of conferences and streams that normally make up E3 shall begin in earnest. It's an exciting time to be invested in the gaming industry, and the rumored game reveals for this month hold a lot of promise.
Microsoft and Bethesda are the most obvious purveyors of news, as they are holding another merged conference on June 12. The late-2022 release slate for the Xbox Series X looks rather sparse, but there are so many projects under Microsoft's umbrella right now that something has to make a big splash at the show. Other companies partnering with Summer Game Fest like Capcom and Square Enix are also anticipated to be a big part of the proceedings. Konami is notably absent from the list of over thirty partner companies, but after recent major leaks, it feels likely that its Silent Hill franchise is going to show up either way.
Silent Hill News May Show Up Soon
Silent Hill has been stuck in limbo ever since the cancellation of PT and Silent Hills. As Konami mostly stepped back from game development, the IP was only used for pachislot machines and the occasional crossover. Thanks to some new laws regarding pachinko, Konami has turned its attention back to game development, but now with much fewer game developers under its roof. To solve this, Konami reportedly cast its line into the game industry at large, searching for studios willing to take on its iconic franchises. As evidenced by the return of Getsu Fuma Den as a roguelike, it seems Konami's efforts have been a success.
While the future of Metal Gear and Castlevania is still unclear, fans now have a pretty good idea of what Silent Hill's next steps will look like. Multiple corroborating leaks came out over the course of May 2022 to paint a picture of but the next few Silent Hill games. A mainline title seems to be in development, possibly using a British setting instead of an American one. An episodic series was also alluded to, and Bloober Team is supposedly handling a Silent Hill 2 remake. Another playable teaser for one or all of these games was also said to be in development. These games have apparently been in the works for years, and considering that Konami intended to show something at last year's E3, the timeline checks out.
Bloober Team's Silent Hill Could Be the First to Appear
The only issue with this theory is that Konami is, again, not listed as a partner for Summer Games Fest. If it has news for multiple franchises, Konami could always host its own event, but then it would be passing up the big stage that Geoff Keighley's E3 replacement brings. There are other avenues for Konami to be part of the June proceedings, however, and they have to do with Bloober Team. This Polish developer officially confirmed that it was working with Konami on something a couple of years ago, and its Silent Hill inspired The Medium may have been what sealed the deal.
Furthermore, Bloober Team is listed as a partner for the Summer Game Fest, meaning that at some point it will have a game to show during the proceedings. Because Konami is not mentioned, it is possible that this project could be the next Layers of Fear title or a new IP. No one will be entirely sure until Bloober Team's name appears at the start of a trailer, but it's very possible that Konami had its name omitted from the initial partner list due to either a lack of commitment or the need to hammer down some last-minute details. And even if the Summer Game Fest doesn't have anything to show and Konami does not hold a June event of its own, there are still late-summer gaming events like Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show. Silent Hill's return to the video game industry feels inevitable, the only question is when it will be ready.
Multiple Silent Hill games are rumored to be in development.