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UPDATE: Xbox Head Phil Spencer has squashed any speculation Microsoft may be purchasing Silent Hills. Full story here.

After Konami created a brilliant and viral promotional campaign through their P.T. demo for Silent Hills, it was devastating for intrigued fans to learn that the game had been scrapped. The fact that Konami and Hideo Kojima remained as silent as the game's title only worsened gamers' frustration, as it felt that the game had been needlessly executed due to some kind of spat between the publisher and designer.

Some gamers held on to hope that the game would somehow see the light of day, or that Kojima would team up with Guillermo Del Toro to produce a similarly-spooky non-Silent Hill title, even though such hopes seemed outlandish at best. However, those fans may have something to look forward to, as a new rumor has emerged suggesting that Silent Hills might be saved.

YouTube channel The Know reported today that they've received a tip from an anonymous industry source that claims to have insider information on Silent Hills. Specifically, the source has told The Know that Microsoft is currently in talks with Konami to buy the entire Silent Hill franchise from them, and thereby releasing Silent Hills as an Xbox One exclusive. The anonymous tipper has also noted that the game was approximately 80% finished when Konami scrapped it, and that if the transaction goes smoothly, Microsoft will officially announce the game as their property at the upcoming E3.

While The Know itself jokingly points out that the rumor sounds too good to be true, they noted that they've previously received tips from this same source that were proven to be true. The tipper previously told them that the Xbox One would eventually be sold sans Kinect, despite Microsoft arguing the opposite at the time, and it did happen. Microsoft is also undoubtedly aware of the massive demand for Silent Hills, which was made even more obvious by the petition to Konami to save Silent Hills that now has over 100,000 signatures.

Gamers may not be all too eager to trust a rumor that could turn out to be false, but if the suggestion that the game was so close to completion is true, it would make sense that Konami would rather make a profit than waste money on the game's development for nothing. Since Konami has announced that they intend to shift their focus to mobile games, and they've previously been more than willing to let other game developers create entries in the Silent Hill franchise, like Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and Silent Hill: Downpour, it wouldn't be a huge surprise if they chose to sell off the franchise entirely.

While many PlayStation 4 gamers may be peeved at the notion of Silent Hills moving from a PlayStation 4 exclusive to an Xbox One exclusive, it would still be better to see the game survive in some way than die completely. As it stands, many gamers claimed that they only intended to buy a PlayStation 4 for Silent Hills, so Microsoft may have a real winner on their hands that could propel console sales.

Are you willing to believe this rumor, or are you going to wait until E3 to see if anything actually happens? Let us know in the comments!

Source: The Know