Whether one loves or hates Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding, there is no denying Kojima's sheer creativity when it comes to game development. Before Death Stranding, Kojima innovated for decades with the Metal Gear franchise 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 new Silent Hill game. 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, PT had another twist in store, in that it was actually a prelude to the planned Silent Hills project. Kojima found a great deal of success with PT despite its short length, so fans were on the edge of their seats to see what he could do in a full-length horror game.
Sadly, Konami canceled Silent Hills and Kojima departed from the company. He took a break from the horror genre and started work on Death 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 his Silent Hills project to completion, or at least work on a different Silent Hill game, as unlikely as that may sound.
A Shocking Rumor
The talk of Hideo Kojima making a Silent Hill game started with a Reddit post made on the Silent Hill subreddit by user Sarkzt0001. Moderators on the Silent Hill subreddit 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 Kojima Silent Hill game leaker explained that they've known about the project since Death Stranding finished 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 be watching the horror film The Eye for inspiration. It may not be a coincidence that The Eye is also the movie that greatly inspired PT, and likely by extension, Kojima's Silent Hills project in general.
The other event that Sarkzt0001 was waiting on before they would make the claim about the new Silent Hill game from Kojima was the departure of Kojima Productions co-founder Ken-Ichiro Imaizumi. According to Sarkzt0001, Imaizumi was very much against Kojima collaborating with Konami on a new Silent Hill game, 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 the Silent Hill subreddit 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 how ugly Kojima's split from Konami was may immediately dismiss the rumor that Kojima is making a new Silent Hill game. 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 the Castlevania Netflix series, Metal Gear Solid characters appearing in car commercials, and more. Since Konami hasn't made a new Silent Hill game since 2012 and all it's using the IP for lately is slot 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 the Silent Hill IP 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 the Silent Hill web domain expire. If Konami was intending to use the Silent Hill IP in any meaningful way, including by giving it to Kojima Productions for a project, it seems unlikely that it would let its rights to the Silent Hill website lapse. This seems to show Konami has zero interest in continuing Silent Hill in any capacity, but that remains to be seen.
When Would It Be Announced?
If the supposed Hideo Kojima Silent Hill game does exist, Sarkzt0001 contends that it will be announced in 2020, perhaps at E3. However, they left the door open for the new Silent Hill to be announced as early as The Game Awards 2019 on December 12, so fans may not have to wait long to find out if there's any truth to Sarkzt0001's claims.
No new Silent Hill game has been announced at the time of this writing.