Silent Hill Art Director Is Officially Working on a New Video Game

When it comes to horror franchises, Konami's Silent Hill stands as one of the biggest in all of gaming. Unfortunately, Konami has pulled back quite a bit in regards to new game development in general, and it's been quite some time since fans have been able to enjoy a new entry in the franchise. Fans will be happy to know that Masahiro Ito, the art director on Silent Hill 2 and 3, has announced on Twitter that he is working on a new game. The art direction of Silent Hill has played a pivotal role in the popularity of the series. With its gruesome and distinctive creatures and eerie locales, the Silent Hill franchise has long stood out, and a lot of that has to do with Ito. Since Ito is no longer at Konami, however, it's highly unlikely his project will be a new entry in the series.

About that, I can tell you nothing yet. ( ´•ᴗ•)

— 伊藤暢達/Masahiro Ito (@adsk4) January 4, 2020

The Silent Hill franchise has not seen a new entry since 2012's Silent Hill: Book of Memories. Infamously, a new entry in the series called Silent Hills was supposed to arrive on PlayStation 4 courtesy of Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro, with Norman Reedus in the lead role. A dispute between Konami and developer Hideo Kojima led to the project's cancellation. The game received a playable teaser (or P.T.) that was incredibly well-regarded by fans and critics, but the teaser has long since been made unavailable and fans have been clamoring for news about a new Silent Hill ever since. In further proof that the franchise has become a low priority for the publisher, late last year, Konami even allowed the domain for SilentHill.com to go on sale.

It will be interesting to see what Ito's next project will be. In an era where Kickstarter has enabled classic video game creators to crowdfund spiritual successors to dead or dormant franchises, it's not hard to imagine there would be significant interest in one for the Silent Hill series. Of course, it's always possible that this will be something entirely new. With Masahiro Ito on the project, it will most assuredly be worth watching for, either way.

Have you been waiting for a new entry in the Silent Hill franchise? What do you want to see out of Masahiro Ito's new game? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!