Could Bloober Team Be Working On A Silent Hill Game?

Signs point to a definite maybe.

Following Bloober Team’s release of The Medium, the studio has teased that it has another “big project” in the works, and they’ve been actively hiring for positions such as a combat programmer. 

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Speculation runs rampant in regards to what Bloober’s mysterious new project is. One of the most popular theories right now is that it’s somehow connected to the Silent Hill franchise.

While there’s strong reason to believe a Silent Hill game from a Japanese developer may be announced this summer, other suggestions point to there being two Silent Hill games. 

Could Bloober Team Be Working On A Silent Hill Game?

 
Bloober Team have released an interesting catalogue of horror games over the years with Layers of Fear, Blair Witch, and The Medium. Of these games, a number of comparisons have been made between The Medium and Silent Hill from The Medium’s use of fixed camera angles to its story elements and atmosphere. 

Adding to this, Bloober Team composer Arkadiusz Reikowski worked alongside Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka to create the soundtrack for The Medium. The end result is a unique sound with touches of Silent Hill inspiration throughout. 

Two weeks ago while discussing his work on The Medium’s soundtrack in an interview with Al Hub, Akira Yamaoka stated that a summer announcement is coming and that it could be the one people are hoping to hear about. 

As many have pointed out, the game fans have been “hoping to hear about” in relation to Akira Yamaoka is, of course, Silent Hill.

In the past, information has come out suggesting that at least one Silent Hill project is planned which – if true – would lend credence to the idea that this summer announcement does in fact pertain to Silent Hill.

Others have suggested there could actually be two Silent Hill projects planned. One source for these rumors is Dusk Golem on Twitter who we previously quoted in our article about Akira Yamaoka’s summer game announcement teaser.

Dusk Golem recently retweeted an article from VGC which talks about whether Bloober Team could be working on a Silent Hill-related project. After they started receiving questions about these (and other) Silent Hill rumors, Dusk Golem noted the following:

“I can show the receipts, but what is 100% true, and I’ve said is 100% true since the beginning, is in 2018 Konami shopped for 2 Silent Hill games, at the start of 2019 a Japanese developed SH started production, and more recently, a SH game with Sony marketing rights started getting prepped for announcement for a few months from now. That does not discredit the rest, but the above 3 points are the ONLY points I’ve ever said I was 100% sure of, they’re facts. The rest is not 100%, but maybe.” 

The article from VGC states that they understand that “Konami has already outsourced a Silent Hill project to a prominent Japanese developer, with a reveal due this summer.” This backs some of the statements being made by Dusk Golem. 

It also seems the Silent Hill game from a “prominent Japanese developer” will be the one we hear about this summer, although that isn’t to say we couldn’t hear about both projects at the same time. 

In an interview with gamesindustry.biz, Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno confirmed the company is working on an exciting new project and that it’s actually been in development for a while now. This isn’t something they just started working on now.

“We’ve been working for more than a year on another gaming project, another horror IP, and we’re doing this with a very famous gaming publisher,” Babieno said. “I can’t tell you who. I can’t tell you what the project is, but I’m pretty sure when people realize we’re working on it, they will be very excited.” 

If this is true, and the project is a Silent Hill game, it sounds like it’d be safe to reveal at the same time as the other Silent Hill game, even if this reveal only constitutes a 30-second teaser or title screen confirming the game is “Coming Soon”. 

It’s worth mentioning that the game Bloober Team is working on doesn’t sound like it’s close to being done yet. A few weeks ago, Bloober Team announced they’re hiring for their next “big project” and you can still see some of these job listings up on their website.  

Bloober Team is currently hiring for the role of combat programmer. The position’s responsibilities include:

“Creating C++ combat systems (both melee and ranged) and integrating them with other various gameplay elements.” 

The team is also hiring a gameplay programmer with knowledge of C++ and Unreal Engine 4, a VFX artist who can create real-time special effects (ie. environment effects, flames, dust, fog, water, bloot, etc.), and a 3D technical animator whose responsibilities list: 

“Character skinning with close attention to physical deformation.”

Interesting, very interesting. Speaking with us in an interview, Wojciech Pieko (Lead Game Designer at Bloober Team) shared some interesting information that we’re also trying to piece together in relation to these Silent Hill rumors. 

For example, he says that Bloober Team’s Piotr Babieno arranged the meeting between him and Akira Yamaoka in Tokyo where they showed him The Medium.

It sounds like this meeting happened pre-2020 pandemic, and a 2018 or 2019 timeline to discuss a Silent Hill project (along with The Medium) doesn’t sound all that farfetched. 

One could suggest they met with Yamaoka to discuss Silent Hill, but also ended up asking Yamaoka to work on The Medium’s soundtrack as well. 

Wojciech Pieko is a huge fan of the Silent Hill series, and if asked, we’re pretty sure Bloober Team would say “yes” to working on a Silent Hill game without hesitation.

“To be honest, Silent Hill 2 is one of my favorite games ever so the series definitely has been inspiring me for years, and it was no different with The Medium,” Pieko explained.

When asking about other games that Bloober Team has in development, Pieko responded:

“There is always something lurking in the darkness, and it’s usually closer than anyone expects ;)” 

Make with all of this information what you will, but the Silent Hill rumors keep building on top of one another with Yamaoka’s tease in his interview with Al Hub, to the idea that two Silent Hill projects are in the works, and that one could be developed by The Medium’s Bloober Team.

As soon as more information is released regarding Silent Hill and whether or not Bloober Team is involved, we’ll be sure to update you and let you know.

In the meantime, what do you think of the idea that Bloober Team could be working on a Silent Hill project? Do you think we’ll get confirmation of this sometime later this year, perhaps this summer? 

Share your theories with us on our social media channels including Facebook and Twitter


 


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Morgan Shaver
Morgan is a writer, metalhead, horror lover, and indie game enthusiast. When it comes to games, they love nothing more than to wax poetic about all the latest and greatest indies to anyone who'll listen. They're also a Tetris fanatic who's fiercely competitive in games like Tetris 99... and all games in general. But mostly Tetris. You can follow Morgan on Twitter @Author_MShaver