It has been a decade since the last complete Silent Hill projects; Downpour and Book of Memories. Not to mention eight years since Kojima’s P.T. shocked fans and spawned, what seems, like a new subgenre of horror. During that time there has been a constant stream of rumors. Now, it seems that something a little more substantial has dripped through the rusted pipe.
Constant Rumors
As nearly every major video game event approaches a new series of rumors surrounding the beloved psychological, survival horror franchise make the rounds. Even in the absence of concrete evidence, there is always discussion and hope.
In the last few years, there have been mumblings of a series of remakes on par with Resident Evil 2 and 3. Then came rumblings that there were two completely new projects as well: a full-length entry and a smaller scale, episodic series. None of these have been confirmed as of yet.
Cover of Silent Hill: HD Collection from 2012.
These rumors were amplified with a sudden increase of official merchandise coupled with a tease from Konami that news related to a major franchise was to occur at the Tokyo Game Show. Of course, Silent Hill was still absent.
Leaks of a Not-So-Silent Hill
This morning something sprang from a rather unexpected place. It was not an anonymous employee or credible YouTuber. The culprit came in the form of the Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea.
A listing for Silent Hill: The Short Message has appeared online. It also has UNIANA listed as the publisher. They have published Konami games, including eFootball 2023, in Korea. It remains to be clear if this is a proper, full-length entry to the franchise, a smaller title, a mobile game, or something else entirely.
Supposed leaked image of a creature from rumored Silent Hill: The Short Message.
Another interesting aspect of this worth noting is the connection all of this has to a leak from earlier this year. On May 12, 2022, reputable leaker Dusk Golem shared images they had received. In a series of tweets, they claimed that it was a new Silent Hill game and specifically mentioned the use of SMS or short message services. This aligns with The Short Message.
(1/2) are a bit dated, from 2020, so maybe this project looks a bit different now. But what I'm choosing to share. I know many will doubt this, but I have a lot of private proof to show this is real, & as always, I continue to wait on the Silent Hill game reveal.
— AestheticGamer aka Dusk Golem (@AestheticGamer1) May 13, 2022
These images were taken down by a copyright strike from Konami, which only adds more fuel to the fire. The use of SMS can be seen in another supposed image leak that appeared on ResetEra a few hours ago. In the forum, Dusk Golem claims to have shared it in a Discord group and that someone else had sniped it.
Supposed leaked image of a hall and SMS from rumored Silent Hill: The Short Message.
All of the pieces to the puzzle of what is to come from the beloved horror franchise are falling into place. Rating leaks and copyright strikes seem to add credibility. There seems to be something to be excited about on the horizon, but what it is exactly is yet to be seen.
