Rumors of a Silent Hill PS5 reboot resurface after surprise Konami visit

Sony Interactive Entertainment might reanimate one of the most seminal horror video games series, Silent Hill, as two PlayStation 5 exclusive titles, and even if it's unlikely that either will be a PS5 launch title, a new tease emerged Thursday that's inspired some hope.

A series of rumors floating around online in recent weeks suggest that SIE Japan Studio is working with Konami to reboot the series that has been dormant since the 2012 release of Silent Hill: Downpour and that Sony has also approached Hideo Kojima about reviving his canceled Silent Hills thriller. Rumors have hit a fever pitch after fans noticed a surprising post on Instagram Thursday.

A Konami representative told the Rely on Horror blog on March 24 that recent chatter about new Silent Hill games was “not true,” seemingly quashing any hope for a series comeback. Early Thursday morning, however, horror manga artist Suehiro Maruo published an Instagram post showing that he had recently visited Konami’s headquarters in Tokyo — and because they appeared as part of his story, they seemingly just happened.

Maruo shared two images to his Instagram story showing the entrance of Konami’s HQ and a tombstone-looking plaque with “Silent Hills” written on it, so it's either a legitimate tease or an overt troll. These were posted on games discussion forum ResetEra, which obviously excited fans of the horror series. We have no way of knowing what Maruo may have discussed with representatives at Konami, but he definitely wants us to think it has something to do with Silent Hills.

The manga creator has never worked on a video game before, but he might be recruited as an art director based on his years of illustration and writing experience. There’s no further evidence to suggest if Maruo would be working on the Silent Hill reboot, the revival of Kojima’s Silent Hills, or something completely different. We do know that Konami is by no means burying the series, so any or all of the above seem possible.

The company might have shut down the Silent Hill rumors in its comments to Rely on Horror, but it also left the door open for future game installments and more.

“It’s not to say we are completely closing the door on the franchise,” said the representative. “Just not in the way it is being reported.”

Could they have been referring to the new Silent Hill movie that was confirmed in February? Could Maruo be lead illustrator for an unannounced Silent Hill manga? Or is Konami covering the tracks of a new Silent Hill game?

The anonymous tipster that originally told Rely on Horror that a reboot of Silent Hill was in the works mentioned that development for the game had started years ago under Sony with Masahiro Ito, the background and creature designer for the past four Silent Hill, as the lead designer. Back in January, Ito might have hinted that this tip is true.

He tweeted that he had been hired as a “core member” for an unnamed title that he said he hopes “won’t be cancelled.” That tweet could have been a cheeky reference to the cancellation of Konami and Kojima’s Silent Hills.

Could Maruo be joining Ito on this rumored reboot or will Kojima’s Silent Hills finally see the light of day on the PS5? It’s far too early to say, but all of these hints, rumors, and cryptic comments from Konami are lining up far too neatly to all be a coincidence. Perhaps this is all a sign that Konami had been gearing up for some kind of reveal at E3 2020 before the event was canceled, which is to say that a reveal sometime in the early summer might still be possible.