Why The New Silent Hill Leak Looks Legit

Fans have been waiting for a new "Silent Hill" game for a decade at this point, with the once-beloved series falling into limbo after the cancellation of Hideo Kojima's ill-fated "P.T." project. However, a recent report from a well-known leaker may give fans reason to hope for a new installment.

AestheticGamer (a.k.a. Dusk Golem) may already be a familiar name for fans of survival horror video games, particularly when it comes to leaking info on upcoming titles. For instance, they were the first to report that "Resident Evil Resistance" would be released as the online portion of the "Resident Evil 3" remake. In the last few years, they have also kept fans up to date on rumors surrounding the development of multiple "Silent Hill" projects, one of which seems to finally be close to fruition.

Over on Twitter (per VGC), AestheticGamer posted a series of images that they claim are from an upcoming Silent Hill project: an eerie figure at the end of a dimly-lit hallway covered in pieces of paper, a close-up that appears to be of the same hall, a dilapidated room filled with garbage bags, and a close-up of a female character whose skin is peeling to reveal upsetting handwritten words underneath. As noted by VGC, some of the slang used in the notes and graffiti glimpsed in these images seem to imply that the next Silent Hill could be set in the UK. Alongside these images, AestheticGamer tweeted, "The shots are a bit dated, from 2020, so maybe this project looks a bit different now. But [this is] what I'm choosing to share."

And while these tidbits are definitely interesting, it's what happened next that has fans thinking this particular leak might be legitimate.

Shortly after AestheticGamer posted the supposed "Silent Hill" images, their account was hit with a DMCA takedown. Where the images once were, there is now a message reading, "This image has been removed in response to a report from the copyright holder." Some fans in the comments below AestheticGamer's tweet have expressed disappointment with the fact that the images are gone, but others are taking this as a silent confirmation from whatever company may be behind the next game in the terrifying series. In other words, fans are wondering why the copyright holder would strike the images if they were anything less than the real deal.

Meanwhile, other gamers are extremely excited by a few other little details dropped by AestheticGamer, who tweeted, "This is from a relatively new source for me, but I have been given more than enough proof to believe them. I also will mention the names 'Anita & Maya,' 'SMS Messages,' & this is not the only SH game in dev." As pointed out by more than a few commenters, the bit about SMS messages seems to line up with previous claims regarding the use of text messages in Kojima's proposed "Silent Hills." 

None of these claims have been confirmed just yet, but the idea of a UK-set "Silent Hill" game that incorporates elements of the sadly-canceled "P.T."/"Silent Hills" certainly sounds like a dream come true for franchise fans.