P.T. Fans Just Got Their Dreams Crushed

Konami's P.T. almost feels like folklore at this point. It's considered one of the greatest horror games of all time, yet players can no longer download it, and the company behind it doesn't seem to like talking about it. You can only experience it yourself if you were lucky enough to snag while it was available, or if you have a friend who did. If the PlayStation 4 the game resides on dies, so too does P.T., and there's no getting it back.

With the launch of the PlayStation 5 just around the corner, an interesting question has been raised. Could P.T. somehow make its way to Sony's new console? Will the PlayStation Store allow those who downloaded the game before to do so again on their new hardware?

Unfortunately, Konami appears to have broken its silence on P.T. by issuing a rather disappointing declaration. In a statement to GamesRadar, the company wrote that "the content will not be available on the PS Store, so users won't be able to re-download the content through the backwards compatibility feature to the PS5."

If you deleted P.T. from your console, or if you replaced or sold your PS4, you're out of luck. There's no way for you to obtain the game again, and that won't change once you make the transition to a PlayStation 5.

All is not lost, however.

What if you're still lucky enough to have a copy of P.T. downloaded? What if you're one of the few remaining souls who can still experience Hideo Kojima's "playable teaser" for the canceled Silent Hills? It seems there's a smaller glimmer of hope P.T. will be able to make the next-gen jump with you.

IGN, recalling that "local wi-fi transfer and external storage" are means by which PlayStation 4 games can be moved to PlayStation 5, reached out to Konami and asked if P.T. could be transferred. According to the outlet, "it's a possibility Konami won't rule out right now." Bear in mind — there are some PlayStation 4 games that, for one reason or another, won't work on PlayStation 5. Perhaps Konami is unsure whether or not P.T. will fall into that category.

But from the sounds of it, Konami might not actively try to block P.T. owners from moving the game to their PS5s. If the game can indeed be transferred to and run on Sony's new machine, that'll help keep this enigmatic title alive and playable for at least the next few years.

Not that there was any danger of P.T. disappearing for good. Since the teaser's release back in 2014, P.T. has become something of a cult classic, with players dissecting it every which way to try and deepen their understanding of it. In particular, hacker Lance McDonald unraveled a number of mysteries about the game, such as who the player character is, what the outside world looks like, and what Lisa's up to when you can't see her.

Some fans, not content with hoping that their PS4s hold out, have even tried to rebuild P.T. from the ground up. Creator lewsic729, for instance, attempted to do so in the PlayStation 4 title Dreams, and quite impressively recreated the game's hallway loop. Developer Radius Gordello took things a step further by trying to assmble a full-fledged PC remake. Unfortunately, according to Eurogamer, their project was shut down — but Konami did offer them an internship to help soften the blow. These examples show that, even though P.T. was a relatively small title — it didn't even cost anything to download and play — it had a lasting impact.

There's no indication that Konami plans to resurrect P.T. at any point in the future. In fact, the company doesn't appear interested in revisiting the Silent Hill franchise, period. The company seems content focusing on Pro Evolution Soccer and pachinko machines, even as fans desperately hope for more Metal Gear Solids, more Castlevanias, and yes, another run at horror with Silent Hill.

Until the company shifts its focus back to its core properties, though, the best fans can do is hope games like P.T. remain playable. While Konami won't be helping anyone new download the teaser onto their PS5, it sounds like there's at least some way for existing owners to keep P.T. alive for a little while longer.

New stories about this years-old title are still known to bubble up from time to time. Keep checking back here for more.