Silent Hill's impact on survival horror video games has had fans longing for a new installment. Since internal conflicts between Konami and Hideo Kojima led to Silent Hills being canceled, fans have wondered if and when the Silent Hill franchise would be heard from again, but at least Konami has acknowledged it in other ways.
P.T. inspired countless indie horror games that follow the same looping hallway structure, being an interactive teaser for Silent Hills. Many fans considered The Medium to be somewhat of a spiritual successor to Silent Hill, in part due to Akira Yamaoka's music. Today, the official Konami Shop announced the latest video game franchise that will be given a line of merchandise, and fans are speculating that the merch may be a method of drumming up excitement about an unannounced Silent Hill game.
The Silent Hill merchandise tease showcases what appears to be one of the designs that will be included. The illustration graphic shows classic antagonist Pyramid Head standing in front of the franchise's Halo of the Sun symbol. The design, which also includes the franchise's title, is rendered in a deep red and black to contrast with a grimy brown texture overtop. The Konami Shop is seemingly taking inspiration from multiple Silent Hill games for the merchandise designs.
Fans have been eagerly anticipating news about what may be next for the franchise, and whether a new developer will be given access to the intellectual property. Speculation has spurred rumors toward particular games like Abandoned secretly being the next Silent Hill, but this remains speculation until an official announcement is made. Some fans are taking the idea further, demonstrating the particular width of the Silent Hill title in the illustrated design shared by Konami as being slightly off-center, as if to include an "s" for Silent Hills.
The announcement of Silent Hill merchandise being released on the Official Konami Shop may reinvigorate the conversation about whether fans will hear news about an upcoming game. However, as of the announcement, Konami's e-commerce site has only teased the inclusion of a single design that is based on previous Silent Hill games. Konami may simply be trying to capitalize on the franchise's success as a consumer product.
There is currently no concrete indication that a new Silent Hill game is being developed, or that Konami's merchandise is meant to advertise an unannounced game. However, Silent Hill fans will soon have new official Konami merchandise to look forward to donning in the meantime.