Silent Hill’s impact on survival horror video games has had fans longing for a new installment. Since internal conflicts between Konami and Hideo Kojima led toSilent Hillsbeing canceled, fans have wondered if and when theSilent Hillfranchise would be heard from again, but at least Konami has acknowledged it in other ways.
P.T.inspired countless indie horror gamesthat follow the same looping hallway structure, being an interactive teaser forSilent Hills. Many fans consideredThe Mediumto be somewhat of a spiritual successor toSilent Hill, in part due to Akira Yamaoka’s music. Today, the official Konami Shop announced the latest video game franchise that will be given a line of merchandise, and fans are speculating that the merch may be a method of drumming up excitement about an unannouncedSilent Hillgame.
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TheSilent Hillmerchandise tease showcases what appears to be one of the designs that will be included. The illustration graphic shows classic antagonist Pyramid Head standing in front of the franchise’s Halo of the Sun symbol. The design, which also includes the franchise’s title, is rendered in a deep red and black to contrast with a grimy brown texture overtop. The Konami Shop is seemingly taking inspiration from multipleSilent Hillgames for the merchandise designs.
Fans have been eagerly anticipating news about what may be next for the franchise, and whether a new developer will be given access to the intellectual property. Speculation has spurred rumors toward particular games likeAbandonedsecretly being the nextSilent Hill, but this remains speculation until an official announcement is made. Some fans are taking the idea further, demonstrating the particular width of theSilent Hilltitle in the illustrated design shared by Konami as being slightly off-center, as if to include an “s” forSilent Hills.
The announcement ofSilent Hillmerchandise being released on the Official Konami Shop may reinvigorate the conversation about whether fans will hear news about an upcoming game. However, as of the announcement, Konami’s e-commerce site has only teased the inclusion of a single design that isbased on previousSilent Hillgames. Konami may simply be trying to capitalize on the franchise’s success as a consumer product.
There is currently no concrete indication thata newSilent Hillgameis being developed, or that Konami’s merchandise is meant to advertise an unannounced game. However,Silent Hillfans will soon have new official Konami merchandise to look forward to donning in the meantime.
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