Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka has hinted the next game he will work on is “one you’re hoping to hear about;” creating speculation it will be a Silent Hill game.
Silicon Era reports that during an interview with YouTube channel Al Hub, Yamaoka was asked when we would see his next project. Yamaoka replied “I think it’s the one you’re hoping to hear about.” The video had been uploaded with the title “New Silent Hill Game?”
However, the video has been removed. Issuing a statement on Twitter, Al Hub revealed that they were asked to remove at least that clip.
“We thank you for your support which contributed to the spread of the interview that we published yesterday with Akira Yamaoka around the world.
We were asked to remove the clip, and it has been removed.
We apologize
and stay tuned for the next interviews”
The reported title of the video, Yamaoka’s history, his comments, how others reported on what this likely all meant, and the fact the video was asked to be removed all point to one likely truth. A new Silent Hill game will be revealed soon; possibly within this year. Then again, Konami may have been attempting “damage control” to avoid fans getting their hopes up.
UPDATE: A Konami spokesperson have issued a statement to VGC, denying they asked foe the video to be taken down. There is little information to read into; with the statement being simply “Konami did not ask Al Hub to take down the interview.” There is a slim chance that Yamaoka asked for the clip to be taken down, so the above statement would still be correct.
It may even mean Yamaoka is involved with another major project which its fans are eagerly awaiting for. While he has been Grasshopper Manufacture’s Sound Director since 2010, No More Heroes III is already known. As such, he would have little reason to be coy about working on it.
Original story continues:
We previously reported how sources claimed to Rely on Horror that two Silent Hill games were in development. The first was a “soft reboot” involving Keiichiro Toyama (director and writer for the original Silent Hill), Akira Yamaoka (music composer for many titles in the franchise), and Masahiro Ito (monster designer).
The second was a a revival of Hideo Kojima’s Silent Hills. For those unfamiliar, a demo titled P.T. (Playable Teaser) was added to the PlayStation Network in 2014. The unsettling horror game utilized many cryptic clues to unlock the game’s true ending, revealing it was Silent Hills.
The project would have been designed and directed by Hideo Kojima, in collaboration with Guillermo del Toro, and with the involvement of Norman Reedus.
However, the game was cancelled in 2015 by Konami. Soon after the situation rapidly deteriorated [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] ultimately leading to Kojima leaving Konami, and forming Kojima Productions. Their first title, Death Stranding, featured Norman Reedus and Guillermo del Toro using facial and motion-capture.
Due to the rocky relationship between Konami and Kojima, we had our doubts that Sony would be able to get access to the Silent Hill IP and have Kojima work on a Silent Hill game. A North American PR representative for Konami would release a statement to Rely on Horror, denying the rumors.
“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.”
[…] “It’s not to say we are completely closing the door on the franchise, just not in the way it is being reported.”
At face value, Konami are stated they were not working on Silent Hill video games, but may in the future. However, it could be interpreted that Konami were in fact working on a Silent Hill game, but “not in the way” rumors had described it. Aasymmetrical PvP horror game Dead By Daylight featured a crossover with the series in 2020 [1, 2], with Pyramid Head, Cheryl Mason, and the Midwich Elementary School map.
In late January, Konami denied they would stop producing video games, after restructuring and dissolving several production departments later revealed to be supervisory.
Image: Twitter
