Silent Hill is a pioneering horror video game franchise that has been dormant for many years. Konami has announced multiple Silent Hill projects in the works to revive the franchise. All the projects are being created in conjunction with outside developers.
The original Silent Hill was a pioneer in horror video games when it launched for the first PlayStation in 1999. It was followed by numerous sequels but has been dormant since Silent Hill: Downpour in 2012.
The projects announced include a Silent Hill 2 remake, Silent Hill: Townfall, Silent Hill F, a movie Return to Silent Hill, and a massively interactive live event (MILE) Silent Hill: Ascension.
Analysis
Japanese game publishers like Konami have a valuable library of classic video game content that has the potential to be revived for a new generation. Furthermore, Silent Hill is still a beloved franchise 20 years after its peak success. In a recent survey of horror video game fans, Silent Hill came in number two behind only Capcom’s classic Resident Evil.
The challenge with older products is updating them for a modern audience. To this end, Konami is choosing more of a licensing approach where they are partnering with outside developers to create a variety of products.
As an interesting side note, the Silent Hill 2 Remake was announced for PC and PlayStation 5, not for Xbox or Nintendo platforms.
