Online chatter about the Silent Hill franchise has been running rampant for years at this point, and was recently reignited by a series of leaked screenshots from a project in development circa 2020 (and likely still in the works). A DMCA strike by Konami seems to indicate those screens were the real deal, but word is, they didn’t represent everything that’s going on with Silent Hill.
According to insider NateTheHate (no relation), there are multiple Silent Hill projects in the works, including a Silent Hill 2 remake from Bloober Team (Observer, The Medium), a new mainline entry, and a series of shorter side stories.
-Bloober Team working on Silent Hill 2 Remake. Reworked puzzles. New Endings. Timed PlayStation Console Exclusive
-Multiple Silent Hill projects in development; including new mainline entry & side "stories"
Not confirmed. Just sharing what I've heard pic.twitter.com/eZJDQu9qKY
— NateTheHate2 (@NateTheHate2) May 15, 2022
Video Games Chronicle's Andy Robinson has since stepped in to say NateTheHate’s rumors jive with what he’s heard. According to VGC, the Silent Hill 2 remake will feature revamped enemy AI and animations, new puzzles, and even added endings, which hints the game’s acclaimed story may be rewritten to some degree. This new version of SH2 may also be a PlayStation timed exclusive (potentially putting Bloober Team in the unique position of doing back-to-back console exclusives for different companies).
Moving on, VGC also claims there is also a full Silent Hill sequel on the way, which is said to be in the works at an unnamed Japanese studio. There are also a series of shorter episodic stories planned, with Annapurna Interactive said to possibly be involved (or, at the very least, they pitched something to Konami). Word is, Supermassive Games once proposed their own SH series, which ultimately morphed into The Dark Pictures Anthology.
As for those screenshots we saw last week, they’re said to be from a PT-style teaser codenamed Sakura, which will be released to generate fresh hype for the long-moribund franchise. Of course, take all this with a grain of salt for now. It seems like a sure bet something is happening with Silent Hill, we’ll just have to wait to see exactly what Konami has up their sleeves.
What do you think? What are you hoping for from Konami's franchise going forward?