TheSilent Hillfranchise is one of the most belovedsurvival horror franchises in gaming, with many praising the series for its psychological thrills and disturbing atmosphere. In 2014, hype for the series reached a new high as Hideo Kojima revealed he would be tackling the series withSilent Hills, alongside a brief preview of what to expect with the now-infamous demoP.T.
All of this anticipation was quickly dashed away whenKonami removedP.Tfrom the PlayStation store,cancelledSilent Hills, alongside cutting ties with Hideo Kojima altogether. Being one of the biggest upsets in recent gaming history, fans of the franchise felt robbed of great things to look forward to, clamoring for any updates on a new release ever since.
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After a dark and gloomy period with no good news, hope seems to be returning for fans to return to a game series so renowned for being dark and gloomy. Numerous leaks and rumors have been mounting over the years. While information on the internet should be taken with a grain of salt, some notable standouts seem to indicate that anewSilent Hillgameis not a question of ‘if’ but a matter of ‘when’.
Mysterious Silent Hill Amazon UK Listing
Major stores and retailers have been known over the years to accidentally leak new games earlier than planned, such as the upcomingMass Effect Trilogy Remasteredbeing listed by a Portuguese retailer. Mistakes happen, but naturally the gaming community are quick to notice these slip-ups and word spreads like wildfire in this modern social media age. Now, knowing these leaks can commonly happen at any time, a close eye is kept on major store websites like Wal-Mart and Best Buy, just in case something were to be posted by accident.
Sure enough, last summer when Sony was preparing for its PS5 reveal event, a suddenAmazon UK listing for a Konami PS5 gameimmediately sparked intrigue among gamers. Naturally, all of this was pure speculation as the Sony event came and went, with no sign ofSilent Hillanywhere. Fans of the franchise still had a funny feeling that something was going on behind the scenes.
Konami Creates New Silent Hill Twitter
After astrange tweet from Konami referencingSilent Hill 2stirred up fans to think some sort of announcement was coming, the company quickly hit the brakes to try and calm the hype. Players were rapidly rushing to conclusions from the revival ofSilent Hillsto a full blown remake ofSilent Hill 2, from such a vague tweet, indicating just how desperate this fanbase is for any new information.
Even more odd, however, was when Konami’s solution was to encourage fans to instead divert attention to an entirelynewSilent Hilltwitter account for future updates. This was only blown further out of proportion since that same statement from Konami said fans should expect officialSilent Hillnews to possibly come from an event, just days before the aforementioned PS5 reveal showcase. As stated, nothingSilent Hillrelated was shown off, but it only further intensified fan outcry for a new installment.
Kojima Productions Reviving Silent Hills
Hideo Kojima’s time with theSilent Hillfranchise was sadly short lived, and after his parting with Konami, he created his own company aptly named Kojima Productions. With the company launchingDeath Strandingin 2019, many wonder what is coming next, especially after rumors of acancelled project within Kojima Productions.
Understandably, Kojima may never wish to revisit the series after such fallout with Konami, and yet his name remains closely associated with theSilent HillIP as a whole. This connection was brought directly under the spotlight once more when YouTuber Moore’s Law is Dead (who also leaked the sequel to 2018’sGod of Warwell before its reveal) claimed thatSilent Hillsis in development for PS5from Kojima Productions.
Silent Hill Composer’s Deleted Tweet
As fans continue to grow more dizzy with each new rumor and leak, it seems that only more fuel is added to the fire with more bizarre occurrences. During an interview earlier this year,Silent Hillseries composerAkira Yamaoka seemed to be hinting at an upcoming project, mentioning to expect news by the summer and that fans of his past work should be excited.
Much like anything else mentioned, it is important to manage expectations and speculation, however eyebrows were especially raised when the sameAkira Yamaoka interview was pulled downnot long after being posted. Konami denies it had anything to do with the article being removed, but fans can’t seem to shake the specific references that Yamaoka made to his prior work, with the most famous among them arguably beingSilent Hill.
Bloober Team Hints at Secret Project
Not long after the Yamaoka interview debacle, even moreSilent Hillrumors began to surface whenBloober Team teased an upcoming horror gameon a pre-existing franchise with a well known gaming publisher. Considering past efforts from the studio, such asBlair WitchandThe Medium,are similar toSilent Hillboth tonally and stylistically, expectations that the team were asked to work on a new game in the long running horror series are understandable.
There are of course, many horror IP’s in the gaming industry, but the rumor was again given weight. Not long after reports were mounting thatKonami was partnering with multiple studiosto developSilent Hillgames, Bloober Team was once again being mentioned. With leaks and rumors continuing to creep up on players at such a consistent pace, it seems like a return to the haunting world ofSilent Hillmay indeed be on the horizon. As for when it will officially be revealed is what remains shrouded in a thick fog of mystery.
