Konami Issues Statement Regarding Silent Hills Cancellation – Update: Game Officially Cancelled

UPDATE 2: In case there was any doubt, Konami has issued another statement via Kotaku officially cancelling Silent Hills. “Konami is committed to new Silent Hill titles, however the embryonic ‘Silent Hills’ project developed with Guillermo del Toro and featuring the likeness of Norman Reedus will not be continued. In terms of Kojima and Del Toro being involved, discussions on future Silent Hill projects are currently underway, and please stay tuned for further announcements.”

Yesterday we reported that Silent Hills, the collaboration between Hideo Kojima, Guillermo Del Toro, and Norman Reedus, was cancelled. However, there has been some argument about whether the project has been completely cancelled or simply retooled following the possible separation of Kojima from Konami. Today, Konami has responded to the claims, but their statement, via Gamespot, doesn’t clear up much of the confusion. When asked about the cancellation of Silent Hills they simply responded “We will continue to develop the Silent Hill series.”

Of course, this doesn’t clarify whether the game known as Silent Hills will continue without Kojima, or if it has been cancelled entirely. Most signs point to it being cancelled, and/or retooled to the point that it is a totally different game from what was originally intended. The subsequent removal of P.T., the “Playable Teaser” that originally announced the existence of Silent Hills, seems to fit with the cancellation narrative.

As has been the case since this whole debacle began, Konami’s near silence is not helping the situation. Fans were excited that Silent Hill would be making a comeback, but the hope was that Kojima and Del Toro could put together a sequel that was worthy of the name. If either one of them are off the project it is important information that should be shared openly with fans. While the news that Silent Hill will continue as a series is good, given the track record of the last few sequels many fans might not be as interested without Kojima.

UPDATE: An FAQ was issued to Eurogamer. It doesn’t answer too many questions, but you can see it below:

• Why has the image of Norman Reedus disappeared from the official website?
  • This is because our contract period with him has expired.
• Why is “P.T.” no longer available on Playstation Network?
  • Because the distribution period has expired.
• What will happen with regard to “SILENT HILL”?
  • Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. will continue to develop the “SILENT HILL” series.
• What will happen with regard to “P.T.”?
  • P.T. was purely created to be a playable teaser for “SILENT HILL.”
• What do you mean by “playable teaser”?
  • The playable teaser was a trial edition of “SILENT HILLS” intended to give players an idea of the game concept.