The Silent Hill series could be making a major comeback, if a recent report by VideoGames Chronicle (VGC) is to be believed. According to the outlet, a “prominent Japanese developer” is currently handling an upcoming reboot of the series, expected to be revealed this summer, and Konami, the series’ publisher, has approached non-Japanese studios about making a new Silent Hill game.
According to VGC’s sources, Konami has outsourced one future Silent Hill game to a fellow Japanese company. While there’s no specific details about the upcoming project, according to the people VGC spoke to, its currently planned to be a departure for the long-running survival horror series. How and in what ways is unknown as of right now.
Back in March 2020, reports began to surface that Konami was working with SIE Japan Studio on a Silent Hill reboot, bringing on board series director and writer Keiichiro Toyama, art director Masahiro Ito, and composer Akira Yamaoka. Later that month Konami called the reports “untrue.” Toyama is currently developing a new survival horror game for his new independent studio Bokeh Game Studio, expected to be released in 2023. Earlier this week, concept art was shown off for the first time.
That’s not the only possible Silent Hill reboot on the horizon. According to two sources VGC spoke to, Konami approached developer Supermassive Games, developer of Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology, to pitch its own take on the series. However, no deal was signed between the two parties. The current rumor mill isn’t done speculating that a non-Japanese studio could be working on a new Silent Hill, though.
On Thursday, Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio is currently developing a new horror IP “with a very famous gaming publisher.” Bloober Team’s recent work includes Layers of Fear, The Blair Witch, and most recently, the Xbox Series X/S exclusive The Medium.
“I can’t tell you who,” Babieno said. “I can’t tell you what the project is, but I’m pretty sure when people realize we’re working on it, they will be very excited.”
While there’s no real indication that this means Bloober is working on a Silent Hill reboot, VGC, citing a video by YouTuber TheGrateDebate, points out that Yamoka (who left Konami in 2009) has stated in the past he’s working on a second game with Bloober Team. Yamaoka was composer on The Medium. In a now-deleted YouTube interview, Yamaoka also teased a new project coming this summer, saying it was “the one you’re hoping to hear about.”
Despite its place in video game history, the Silent Hill series has been largely absent for the last 10 years. Silent Hill: Downpour, the last mainline game in the series, was released in 2012, while Silent Hills, which was to be directed by Hideo Kojima, had a very public and infamous cancellation in 2015. While there haven’t been any big Silent Hill games recently, series characters have been added to Dead By Daylight.
We’ve reached out to Konami PR about these recent reports and will update our story should we hear back.
