“A core goal when I’m designing games is to make new kinds of experiences that always offer interesting surprises and unpredictable moments for players, and for our own dev team! To achieve this means building emergent gameplay,” he said on the PlayStation Blog.

However, it looks like 4:LOOP might live up to its lofty goals, with a very cool way to dive into missions in a world where an alien invasion has left the majority of Earth’s population turned into glass statues. You choose missions with your fellow players via a vote, and are thrust straight into the action, navigating maps designed to give you options and the creative freedom to make the most out of them as you go about your objectives.

Don’t worry if you die, though, as there’s a really cool 3D printer that’s going to bring you right back to life at your home base, while at least one of your teammates must make it to the Escape Zone for your run to succeed. All in all, it looks like 4:LOOP could just gather enough momentum to have a player base that swears by it when it drops later this year.

Each run tasks players with pushing deeper into hostile zones, combining abilities and gear to create powerful synergies. As the alien threat escalates, survival depends on managing positioning, rescuing downed teammates, and making the most of limited opportunities to escape or press the attack.

Structurally, players work to disrupt an alien mining operation across multiple missions in order to draw out and eventually destroy a massive Mothership. Completing missions upgrades gear and builds out a unique loadout for the climactic boss fight at the end of each Act, with three Acts standing between the squad and saving the world. Layered meta-progression and world-specific knowledge, like learning how different plants or enemies behave, are intended to give players an edge on subsequent attempts.

If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the studio is a division of JJ Abrams’ production company of the same name. As for why it partnered with Sony Interactive Entertainment, CEO Anna Sweet said it will allow for bringing “our new IP to life, with an expansive vision for this new universe.”

“With the support of PlayStation, we hope to deliver a bold, innovative experience that is truly special for players. I could not be more excited that Mike Booth is at the creative helm, crafting a cooperative adventure that will lead to unforgettable moments with friends.”

Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Christian Svensson, VP and Head of 2P/3P Content Ventures & Strategic Initiatives, added, “We’re greatly impressed with the talent Bad Robot Games has assembled at their studio, and are thrilled to partner with them to help produce and publish their upcoming game.

“Their unique creative voice and passion for innovating across all forms of interactive entertainment perfectly align with SIE’s mission to craft experiences that resonate deeply with players. We can’t wait for gamers to step into the world they’ve been building.”

Of course, what this co-op shooter could be, from its premise to its gameplay mechanics, remains to be seen, but you can expect more details at a “later date.”

Booth is perhaps best known for Left 4 Dead’s AI Director, and after Turtle Rock Studios’ acquisition by Valve, he would go on to work at Blizzard, Facebook and Resolution Games (Demeo). He’s been at Bad Robot Games since December 2020 as its Chief Creative Officer.

With the deal announced so close to The Game Awards on December 11th, perhaps there could be an announcement? Time will tell, so stay tuned.

However, the Season Pass is available as part of the Founder’s Pack until November 14th for $19.99. You also get a Founder’s icon, Founder’s frame, emoji, sticker and themed frame for customizing your profile. The Season Pass will likely be available after the above date, but viewers may miss out on the exclusive cosmetics.

The Season Pass lasts for the entirety of a season or roughly six months. Silent Hill: Ascension is free to download and watch via the App Store and Google Play. It’s also viewable through the official website and the Sony Pictures Core app on PS4, PS5, Sony Bravia TVs and Xperia smartphones. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.

Along with airing via desktop browsers, iOS and Android, it’s also viewable on PS4 and PS5 via the Sony Pictures Core app, Bravia TVs via the Bravia Core app and Xperia phones via the Bravia Core for Xperia app.

Regarding this partnership with Sony Picture Entertainment, Genvid interactive series creator and chief creative officer Stephan Bugaj said, “We’re excited to introduce the Johansen and Hernandez families into the Silent Hill universe. As they delve deeper into their own horrors, and their towns are simultaneously consumed by mass hysteria, these two families will uncover strange connections between them despite being a world apart.”

Genvid CEO Jacob Navok also said, “There has never been an experience like Silent Hill: Ascension before. It’s not a game, but an interactive streaming series that will change as the audience makes decisions together. While I’m executive producing the title, I don’t know how it will end. That is in your hands. And the content you make will be streamed worldwide on televisions and phones through our relationships with Sony Pictures, Google, Apple and others. Participating in Silent Hill: Ascension each day means you’ll be part of history that will never come again.”

Sony Pictures Entertainment New Media Distribution senior vice president Pete Wood added, “We are exploring all new territory with Silent Hill: Ascension. Through this unique venture with Genvid, we are excited to offer viewers on Sony devices a weekly catch-up on the action of Silent Hill: Ascension with full episodes of compiled scenes from this innovative, interactive series.”

Silent Hill: Ascension premieres on October 31st at 6 PM PT. After the regular season wraps up, mini-seasons where new decisions can be made to unlock different results will go live, though a release date has yet to be announced.

The Google Play Store listing for Silent Hill: Ascension was recently updated, and as per the page’s updated version, the horror series is set to launch later this month, on Halloween, October 31. As per the listing, the first episode will premiere at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT.

If that is indeed accurate, then one would assume Konami will be making the official announcement soon, along with revealing finer details on its streaming schedule, among other things.

You can learn more about Silent Hill: Ascension, its community-driven storytelling structure, its streaming schedule, and more in our interview with Jacob Navok, CEO of developer Genvid Entertainment.

It also explores a character’s trauma and how that may affect others around them. “We’re going to more global locations and looking deeper at how those relationships may be impacted by this trauma.

“So if I have unresolved trauma, how does that impact not only me but the people around me? How does it affect the community? And if it stays unresolved, how might it affect my descendants if I never actually face it?”

Creative director Martin Montgomery also said this Silent Hill is about “the idea of collective delusion. So this is not just localized to one person. An entire town is experiencing this shared delusion, so these things could be real. Things could be a figment of their imagination. They don’t know. And we’re playing with that idea within the narrative.”

Essentially, Genvid wants to look at how the various issues of characters in the games would manifest as “very real threats” and bring that into Ascension’s story. It wants the characters to be relatable so that “the audience cares about them and wants to see them redeemed,” says lead writer Shanon Ingles.

“When we’re doing character development… these are flawed, broken people. These are people who’ve been through trauma. These are people who’ve traumatized others, and they’re working through that. Audience members get a chance to help arc these characters.

“They have a chance to help redeem these characters or push them deeper into their trauma. And there’s something really powerful about that. To do that, we have to make the audience understand why they did the things they did.”

Silent Hill: Ascension airs later this year. For more details on the schedule and quick time events, head here. Interestingly, there will be mini-seasons afterwards exploring “What if” scenarios, where the audience can make new decisions and unlock different results.

But what exactly can we expect from the series and how it’ll work. Taking recently to Twitter, Jacon Navok – CEO of Silent Hill: Ascension studio Genvid Entertainment – offered up new details on the streaming series, confirming that each stream in the series will be tied to a decision by the players/viewers that will affect the story’s outcome, with the schedule for streams set to go live “a bit before” the series is ready to go live.

According to Navok, those logging in once a day will be able to “see every decision available for the next 24 hours”, while some “super important” one will also be shown well in advance. Decisions will primarily be made by real-time viewers/players through QTEs, though those unable to login every day will also be able to influence the story’s outcome by participating in community puzzles, which can be played at your own pace. Meanwhile, all previous streams will also be archived, so you’ll be able to catch up if you’ve missed out on a previous stream.

Navok also confirmed that “what if” mini-seasons will also air once the series has gone through its first run. In these seasons, the community decisions for the original run – which will be considered canon – will be blocked out, and the audience will be able to make different decisions to unlock different outcomes.

Silent Hill: Ascension is expected to go live later this year. A specific release date hasn’t yet been announced.

Each stream connects to a decision. Schedule for the streams will be released a bit before we go live since we're still optimizing.

If you want to be part of every decision, login once a day and you should see every decision available for the next 24 hours, in some cases you'll…

— Jacob Navok (@JNavok) June 1, 2023

Yes! While the decisions made in the initial run are canon, we will rerun Ascension after it ends and block out the canon choices, letting the audience unlock the other outcomes. We call this the "What If" mini season.

— Jacob Navok (@JNavok) May 31, 2023

Silent Hill: Ascension will focus on a number of different characters in different locations that are facing unique threats from all manner of terrors and monstrosities, and will allow the community to determine each of their fate, with the collective decisions being made impacting the outcome of the story. According to Konami, “even the project’s creators do not know how Silent Hill: Ascension ‎will end”, with particular emphasis being placed on interactivity of community-driven storytelling. Check out its trailer below.

Silent Hill: Ascension is set to go live sometime in 2023, though a specific release date hasn’t yet been announced. Recent leaks have claimed that new trailers for Silent Hill 2 Remake and Silent Hill: Townfall are also on the way, so keep an eye out for those as well.

Alongside the trailer, the Silent Hill Transmission also revealed additional details about Silent Hill: Ascension. Genvid CEO Jacob Navok explains that Silent Hill: Ascension will be a social experience that will take place on a massive scale.

Silent Hill: Ascension will be a live, real-time interactive horror series. Those who watch it can also help in changing the outcome of the story, and even be a part of some of the scenes in the series.

“There is no reset button,” says Navok. “The decisions you make will mean life or death in the story.”

Silent Hill: Ascension was only one of the things unveiled during Konami’s Silent Hill Transmission. Other announcements include a remake of Silent Hill 2, a new mainline entry in the franchise titled Silent Hill f, and Silent Hill: Townfall.