Yesterday, YouTube channel Al Hub posted an interview with Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka, in which he seemed to suggest a game announcement may arrive this summer; Al Hub has since removed the video. Interestingly, the interview in question made no mention of Konami’s iconic series, specifically. Yamaoka was asked a general question about when fans could expect to see his next project. He divulged that news of some kind would likely surface during the summer, before teasing it as something people are “hoping to hear about.”
Silent Hill fans are desperate to see any sign of life from the horror franchise, given the many years that have passed since its last outing. In fact, the most recent mainline entry, the very divisive Silent Hill: Downpour, launched nearly a decade ago in 2012. And Konami axed Silent Hills/P.T. once director Hideo Kojima was ousted from the company, leaving many to wonder what the brand may look like should it ever return to the spotlight. Despite the unceasing rumors and speculation, there’s no telling when the publisher will grant Silent Hill a new lease on life.
In a recent interview with YouTube channel Al Hub, series composer Akira Yamaoka appeared to hint that a Silent Hill announcement would emerge this summer. Such speculation picked up steam despite Silent Hill itself never receiving any mention in the video. Regardless of the specifics, though, the video has since been pulled from YouTube by Al Hub, who, in a statement on Twitter, revealed they “were asked to remove the clip.” Whether or not Yamaoka and his team made the request remains unknown.
Naturally, there are two ways of looking at this intriguing turn of events. Either there is some semblance of truth to the ongoing Silent Hill rumors, and Konami does indeed plan to lift the veil this summer. Or news about the franchise’s return isn’t on the horizon, and the publisher simply wants to preemptively lower expectations. No matter the underlying meaning behind the interview’s removal, it’s clear someone wants to avoid more fuel being added to the fire.
Of late, Silent Hill fans have only been moderately satiated by crossovers in other games. Behaviour Interactive launched a Silent Hill DLC pack for Dead by Daylight last year, for example. Now Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals players await Silent Hill content as well, which should go live this month. Thus, for now at least, it appears those interested in Konami’s classic horror series may have to enjoy it through the lens of other games.
