Konami Smashes Our Dreams For A Silent Hills Reboot

Silent Hill fans may want to sit down. Despite all of the rumors we've heard recently, it appears that there may not be a new Silent Hill game in the works, after all. At least, that's what Konami would have us believe, according to a statement Konami US made to Rely On Horror.

"We're aware of all the rumors and reports but can confirm that they are not true. I know it's not the answer your fans may want to hear," read the statement. And they're not wrong at all; that's a total bummer for fans of the long-dormant survival-horror franchise, particularly because of all of the hints we've seen to the contrary in recent months.

For instance, a noted video game industry leaker alleged that Konami was planning on coming out with not one, but two new Silent Hill games. According to leaker AestheticGamer, "one [of the new games is] a soft-reboot of the franchise, the other an episodic TellTale/Until Dawn-style game to go alongside the reboot."

This seemed especially possible considering AestheticGamer's track record of leaking correct information on other titles. Not only that, but Silent Hill 2 and 3 art director Masahiro Ito hinted that he was revisiting a project that had formerly been cancelled. This raised suspicion that not only was Silent Hill set to make a return, but that the new title may have been related in some way to Hideo Kojima's cancelled reboot of the series, Silent Hills.

Then, rumblings that Kojima and Konami had possibly reunited began adding more fuel to the fire that is the Silent Hills rumor mill. People who worked closely on Silent Hills before it was canned began talking about something new on the horizon. Norman Reedus, who was meant to star in Silent Hills, made a comment about how he and Kojima were working together on a new game, while Kojima Productions' Aki Saito seemingly dropped hints on Twitter that he was working on a new Silent Hill-related project.

So what's the deal with all of that? Muddying the waters even further is the other thing Konami US told Rely On Horror: "It's not to say we are completely closing the door on the franchise, just not in the way it is being reported." This could be taken in a number of ways. 

This statement intimates that Konami does, in fact, have plans to continue the series in some way, but it's also still super noncommittal. And honestly, that's how Konami has handled the franchise for quite some time, particularly since the untimely cancellation of Silent Hills. There's always a sense that they'll get to a new game eventually, but there's no telling when. Still, we do know now that the franchise is alive in other ways, which could mean something positive for a future installment.

For instance, we already know that a third Silent Hill film adaptation is in the works. However, that's still a bizarre move for a film adaptation to come out for a series that hasn't seen a new entry in nearly a decade. So the hope here is that Konami may want to get the ball rolling on a new installment in the video game series, if for no other reason than to tie into the hype for the new movie. Maybe that's not the best reason to make a new game, but if it's the only way to to get fans a new game, then maybe it's worth the wait?

The other point, which Rely On Horror points out, is that this is only the word of Konami US regarding the recent rumors involving Kojima Productions. It could be that some of the previous rumors we've heard still hold a bit of weight. Maybe we'll still get that Telltale-style game and the traditional-style sequel/reboot, or at least one of the two. It's also possible that Konami Japan knows something that Konami US doesn't, but that's a bit of a stretch.

As with all things Silent Hill these days, we're just going to have to wait and see how this one shakes out. Don't give up just yet, but also maybe take Konami at its word and don't get your hopes too high, either. It may sometimes feel like we'll never see a Silent Hill sequel, but it does sound like we're getting at least a little bit closer.

In the meantime, we can always revisit the classic installments in the series, as well as the truly bizarre movie adaptations. Those should give us plenty of scares while we wait.