A big announcement was recently teased by Kojima Productions, creators of Death Stranding, and many fans believe it has something to do with Silent Hills. A cryptic tweet went up on the company's Twitter early in the morning. Hideo Kojima, the creator of Kojima Productions and the director of their first title Death Stranding, made waves in late 2014 with the release of P.T. This was a fully playable first-person horror game published by Konami designed by Kojima in collaboration with Guillermo del Toro.
It was a free download and later determined as an interactive teaser for an upcoming Silent Hills game. Unfortunately, it was canceled soon after, even though the teaser was lauded by critics and fans alike for its atmospheric horror and wonderful visuals. Hideo Kojima later left Konami and all production on Silent Hills was indefinitely canceled. The game lives on; both on some PlayStations with it still downloaded and in the hearts of many fans that still call back to the exceptional experience. P.T. was also remade in Dreams.
A new teaser on Kojima Production’s official twitter page could be teasing a Silent Hills game. The post reads, “Sorry to be silent everyone! I’ve been really busy lately…. I think I can say more soon about what we are going to....” Fans latched onto the word “silent,” as well as seeing Kojima himself discuss his next title being another journey into horror. Fans put these two things together to deduce that Kojima Productions may in fact be starting pre-production on that Silent Hills game.
With that said, it’s somewhat unlikely considering that Konami and Kojima didn’t have an amicable split. In fact, his removal by the publisher from the company was seen as an abhorrent action by many. Konami still has the rights to the Silent Hill franchise. Considering both these facts, it would be surprising to see Kojima Productions developing such a title. However, their next game being horror-focused should keep fans excited.
Kojima Productions is hot off the heels of their 2019 release, Death Stranding, which is slated to be coming to PC in the summer of 2020. The contentious release was met with praise for its revolutionary visuals and unique gameplay; however, others criticized its gameplay for being too slow and tedious. The reception was overall positive, and the sales speak for themselves. Mad Mikkelson, who starred in the title, won Best Performance at The 2019 Game Awards, and the game also nabbed Best Score/Music as well as Best Game Direction.
It’s unclear whether we’ll be seeing Kojima Production’s new game anytime soon, but judging by how quickly Death Stranding was teased after the cancellation of Silent Hills, fans have ample reason to be excited. While 2020 may not give them the horror title they crave, 2021 is likely to be the first year where players see Kojima’s return to the beloved gaming genre.
Sources: Kojima Productions - Twitter, Hideo Kojima - Twitter