Two Silent Hill games may be in the works by two separate, well-respected studios, according to a new report.
A reboot of the entire series is reportedly in the works at Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Studio. At the same time, Kojima Productions would head up a revival of the previously canceled Silent Hills. This latest information comes from two sources that spoke to horror specialty outlet Rely on Horror, which reported earlier this year that Konami plans to bring back the iconic series.
Twitter user AestheticGamer1, who accurately shared leaks about Capcom projects in the past, and a Eurogamer article backed up claims “the ice has thawed” between Hideo Kojima and Konami. The Castlevania publisher has been open about wanting to continue the franchise recently and that it’s “listening to customer feedback and considering ways to provide the next [Silent Hill] title.”
So I'm going to tweet some about Silent Hill and the supposed two games in the works. Let me first clarify upfront I'm not 100% clear on everything. I had heard murmurings about this a couple months ago, but over time more and more solid evidence this is the case has come forth.
— AestheticGamer aka Dusk Golem (@AestheticGamer1) March 12, 2020
Sony’s involvement would point toward a PlayStation exclusive and its Project Siren team, best known for its own horror title Siren: Blood Curse, would lead development, according to the article. Several series veterans would reportedly return for the next entry, including Masahiro Ito, who served as the creature designer for the first four Silent Hill titles, composer Akira Yamaoka, and Keiichiro Toyama, the director and writer of the original Silent Hill.
Meanwhile, it appears that the second title could be in pre-production over at Kojima Productions. Despite Kojima and Konami’s public falling out, Sony might be working on patching up the relationship to bring Silent Hills back to life. This gels with recent teases from the Japanese studio and Norman Reedus (who recently starred in Death Stranding) saying that he’s been “in talks” about working with Kojima again. Due to the positive reception of the planned horror game’s P.T. demo, both parties are interested in the revival.
Word is that Silent Hills will be in development for PlayStation 5 and will support PlayStation VR. Sony reportedly pitched Kojima on making it a narrative-driven title and that he’ll have full creative freedom on the title. However, the report notes that this is very much not a done deal, with only Sony’s Silent Hill reboot in active development, and it all depends on Konami and Kojima Productions coming to terms.
Silent Hills was famously revealed after players finished P.T. (which stands for “Playable Teaser”), which was a free first-person horror game that had players repeatedly going through a spooky hallway as they tried to solve puzzles and learn more about the location they were trapped within. Reedus was set to star in the horror title and Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro was supposed to co-direct alongside Kojima. The title was eventually canceled after Kojima left Konami, and the trio later all worked together on Death Stranding.
