Hideo Kojima’s cancelled Silent Hill reboot may still have fans of the industry auteur and horror series alike pining for what could have been, but do those hopeful for the future even have anything to get excited about?
As publisher and owner of the IP, Konami has done little (at least as far as public perception goes) in an attempt to revitalize the franchise, seemingly with a preference instead for capitalizing on brand power by releasing gambling machines adorned with the Silent Hill name. Besides that, only a meager handful of re-releases and crossover events – such as Pyramid Head’s guest appearance in Dead by Daylight – have surfaced to remind survival horror lovers that the series even exists. For one that once stood shoulder to shoulder with Capcom’s Resident Evil in terms of popularity, the current situation is bleak, to say the least.
Were it not for a recent spate of rumors, in fact, claiming that Konami is actively seeking to resurrect one of its hottest properties, we, and no doubt many others, would already be writing its obituary.
While that hearsay has so far amounted to nothing concrete, Kinda Funny co-host and industry insider Imran Khan believes the whispers are credible. Speaking on the latest episode of Gamescast (link below), he said:
I think the rumors are credible and I know that the people who are rumored to be involved in Silent Hill are working on something…If Sony’s also making a Silent Hill – which we don’t know that they are, those are just rumors – I would assume that Sony’s not part of [Kojima’s project], if they’re making a separate, Silent Hill-like game, but who knows? The industry’s been weirder than that.
Reassuring words, to be sure, though it’s worth noting that Khan admits he has no direct knowledge of what Silent Hill‘s former creators are currently working on, so we’d recommend taking all the above with a hearty pinch of salt. Should, on the other hand, it prove true, Silent Hill fans can likely expect the reboot to appear on PlayStation 5 first. Watch this space for further developments.