Rumblings of a revival of Konami’s survival horror franchise, Silent Hill, have been growing more persistent over the last few weeks, with reports emerging not too long ago that two new Silent Hill games are currently in development. While these reports were neither confirmed nor denied by Konami themselves, they did say that they were looking for ways to bring the franchise back. Now, multiple sources are reporting that Konami and Sony are working together for a revival of the franchise.
Known industry insider with a proven track record, Dusk Golem, has published a thread on Twitter providing various possible details about this, while Rely on Horror have also separately published a report going over the same details. Both claim to have heard all of this information from multiple reliable sources they trust.
Apparently, Konami was looking reaching out to various developers some time back to work on two separate Silent Hill titles- one an episodic title, and one a soft reboot of the series. One of the studios that was contacted was reportedly Supermassive Games, developers of Until Dawn. None of the studios in talks with Konami got the job, however.
What did seemingly end up happening when all was said and done was that Sony and Konami entered into an agreement to revive the series. Exclusivity is probably a factor in their agreement- and one Silent Hill game is reportedly been in production for a over a year already. This project is allegedly a soft reboot of the series, and is being helmed by Keiichiro Toyama (director and writer of the original Silent Hill), Akira Yamaoka (composer of the vast majority of the Silent Hill games), and Masahiro Ito (monster designer for the first four Silent Hill titles). At the beginning of this year, Ito teased that he was working as a core member on a new game he was hoping wouldn’t get cancelled.
It’s also worth noting that Toyama has been at SIE Japan Studio for around two decades, having worked on games such as the survival horror title Siren (and its sequel) and both Gravity Rush games- and sure enough, SIE Japan is involved in the game’s development. It’s also worth noting that there were reports earlier in the year of a new horror game being in development at SIE Japan. The game is meant as a standalone experience and is reportedly going to be called simply Silent Hill.
Now, onto the second project- and this is things get even more interesting. Apparently, Sony have been mediating between Kojima Productions and Konami in an attempt to get the two to mend fences, which falls in line with something similar that was reported by Eurogamer at the beginning of the year as well.
The goal for Sony here is to get Kojima Productions working on a Silent Hill game- in fact, it allegedly may very well be a revival of the cancelled Silent Hills, owing to the demand for the game even years since its cancellation. It also seems like Konami and Sony will be funding the game’s development in equal parts- if it does end up happening, that is. Dusk Golem and Rely on Horror are both reporting that this game is currently in the talks, but has not yet been finalized.
Sony have reportedly pitched the game as a narrative-driven title to Kojima and might be promising him full creative control. The game might also support the next generation PSVR headset for the PS5 (which has also been in the rumour mill for quite a while now).
As always, keep in mind that this is unverified and unofficial information, even if it is coming from reliable channels with proven track records. Until such time we hear something concrete about this from either Sony or Konami, it’s best to take this with a grain of salt. Either way, stay tuned, and we’ll keep you updated on any new info regarding this that comes our way.
