Konami Reveals Why Silent Hill: The Short Message Was Released For Free

There aren't a lot of things that are truly free in this world, so when a video game publisher releases something free of charge, gamers tend to wonder what the catch is. During PlayStation's January State of Play, Silent Hill: The Short Message was revealed as a free PS5 game, and was made available for download later that day. In an interview with Famitsu (translated by SiliconEra), producer and director Motoi Okamoto revealed the reason behind the decision, and what Konami was looking to get out of the game's release. 

Silent Hill for a New Generation

Apparently, The Short Message was developed with a handful of things in mind; first of all, Silent Hill has essentially been a dormant series for more than a decade. While it seems like there's a lot of interest in the Silent Hill 2 remake, there are plenty of gamers that simply don't have any familiarity with the franchise. The Short Message offered an opportunity for newcomers to experience what Silent Hill has to offer. Okamoto also told Famitsu that, had Konami decided to make the game a paid release, the studio would have felt obligated to pad out the experience, adding things like a combat system and multiple endings. 

As it is, The Short Message was considered "research and development" for Konami, and it will be interesting to see what the publisher gets out of the experiment. The game has already been downloaded more than 1 million times, so clearly the free release method attracted a lot of attention! Reception has been mixed though, with some players taking issue with the game's handling of themes such as bullying and suicide. It's not unusual for Silent Hill games to touch on psychological horror elements, and previous games have gotten a lot of praise for their ability to tackle these themes in a way that's both sensitive and compelling. Some gamers have found that The Short Message missed that mark, though others have disagreed with that assessment. 

The Next Silent Hill Games

Now that we know Silent Hill: The Short Message was meant as a way to generate more interest in the series, we'll have to wait and see if that strategy pays off. Konami has multiple Silent Hill projects in the works, the biggest of these being the Silent Hill 2 remake. The game is being developed by Bloober Team, the studio responsible for games like Layers of Fear and The Medium. The original version of Silent Hill 2 is considered one of the greatest horror games ever made, so there's a lot of pressure on the studio to live up to that legacy. 

In addition to the Silent Hill 2 remake, Konami also has several other projects in the works, including Silent Hill f and Silent Hill: Townfall. While The Short Message and Silent Hill 2 have both been announced as PlayStation exclusives, platforms for Silent Hill f and Townfall are not known at this time. 

Did you check out Silent Hill: The Short Message? Do you think this was a smart way to drum up more interest in the series? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!