Whether one loves or hatesHideo Kojima’sDeath Stranding, there is no denying Kojima’s sheer creativity when it comes to game development. BeforeDeath Stranding, Kojima innovated for decades with theMetal Gearfranchise at Konami, and most of the games he’s released have earned near-universal acclaim, with many standing as some of the highest-rated video games of all time. Considering this, it’s no surprise that horror game fans are excited at the idea of Kojima’s next project being a horror game. But it’s safe to say that some would be even more excited if Kojima’s new game wasn’t just any horror game, but a new entry in a long-neglected franchise.
There’s a great deal of interest in Kojima making a newSilent Hillgame. It all started when Kojima introduced the world to the haunting “playable teaser"PT, which captivated the Internet with its eerie atmosphere, perfectly-timed jump scares, and general sense of dread. In true Kojima fashion,PThad another twist in store, in that it was actually a prelude to the plannedSilent Hillsproject. Kojima found a great deal of success withPTdespite its short length, so fans were on the edge of their seats to see what he could do in a full-length horror game.
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Sadly,Konami canceledSilent Hillsand Kojima departed from the company. He took a break from the horror genre and started work onDeath Stranding, though he has expressed an interest in making a horror game next. Many assume that Kojima’s horror game will be a brand new IP, but it’s still possible that he could see hisSilent Hillsproject to completion, or at least work on a differentSilent Hillgame, as unlikely as that may sound.
A Shocking Rumor
The talk ofHideo Kojima making aSilent Hillgamestarted with a Reddit post made on theSilent Hillsubreddit by user Sarkzt0001. Moderators on theSilent Hillsubreddit were apparently provided with evidence by Sarkzt0001 that was convincing enough for them to keep the post up, though they cautioned that the user was unable to prove their claims with 100% certainty. The supposed Hideo KojimaSilent Hillgame leaker explained that they’ve known about the project sinceDeath Strandingfinished development, but that they were waiting on two events to take place first so that people would be more likely to believe their claims.
Firstly, Sarkzt0001 explained that they were waiting for Kojima to publicly talk about his horror game. Kojima has discussed his horror game on social media recently, revealing that he will bewatching the horror filmThe Eyefor inspiration. It may not be a coincidence thatThe Eyeis also the movie that greatly inspiredPT, and likely by extension, Kojima’sSilent Hillsproject in general.
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The other event that Sarkzt0001 was waiting on before they would make the claim about the newSilent Hillgame from Kojima was thedeparture of Kojima Productions co-founder Ken-Ichiro Imaizumi. According to Sarkzt0001, Imaizumi was very much against Kojima collaborating with Konami on a newSilent Hillgame, which is ultimately why he decided to leave the studio.
We should stress that none of this information has been proven and it’s quite possible that Sarkzt0001 is making everything up. However, enough legitimate gaming leaks have come from forums like Reddit that things like this can’t be ignored outright. And the fact that Sarkzt0001 provided enough evidence to theSilent Hillsubreddit moderators to keep the post up does lend his claims a bit more credibility than they would have otherwise.
Konami Licenses Its IP
Those who remember howugly Kojima’s split from Konami wasmay immediately dismiss the rumor that Kojima is making a newSilent Hillgame. After all, it wouldn’t make sense to many people that Kojima and Konami would be willing to work together after they departed on what seemed like pretty bad terms. But Konami ultimately wants to make money with its IP, and since it hasn’t really been producing new video games in recent years, the company has been accomplishing that by licensing its IP to others.
This has included things like theCastlevaniaNetflix series,Metal Gear Solidcharacters appearing in car commercials, and more. Since Konami hasn’t made a newSilent Hillgame since 2012 and all it’s using the IP for lately isslot machines, it makes sense that it would lend it out to someone who was actually interested in making a new game. If Sarkzt0001’s information is to be believed, Konami is supposedly licensing theSilent HillIP to Kojima, but it isn’t actually funding the project at all. Instead Kojima Productions itself and an undetermined third party publisher are paying for everything, which would make it a no-brainer financial gain for Konami.
Something working against this theory is Konami letting theSilent Hillweb domain expire. If Konami was intending to use theSilent HillIP in any meaningful way, including by giving it to Kojima Productions for a project, it seems unlikely that it would let its rights to theSilent Hillwebsite lapse. This seems to show Konami has zero interest in continuingSilent Hillin any capacity, but that remains to be seen.
When Would It Be Announced?
If the supposed Hideo KojimaSilent Hillgame does exist, Sarkzt0001 contends that it will be announced in 2020, perhaps at E3. However, they left the door open for the newSilent Hillto be announced as early asThe Game Awards 2019on December 12, so fans may not have to wait long to find out if there’s any truth to Sarkzt0001’s claims.
No newSilent Hillgame has been announced at the time of this writing.
