Update 2/5/21: Al Hub tweeted that they’d been asked to remove the interview video with Akira Yamaoka. It’s not clear who asked them to remove the video, but its removal only fuels the idea that we could be getting a new Silent Hill game. Original article as follows.
In an interview with Al Hub posted to YouTube, Akira Yamaoka sits down and talks about his work on the soundtrack for The Medium, Bloober Team’s latest horror game.
During that interview, Akira Yamaoka teases a possible announcement taking place this summer. He doesn’t say specifically what the announcement is going to be about but implies it may be the one, “You’re hoping to hear about.”
If that’s the case, could it be possible that we’re getting something connected to the Silent Hill series?
Akira Yamaoka Teases Summer Announcement, “The One You’re Hoping To Hear About”
When talking about other upcoming projects in an interview with Al Hub, Akira Yamaoka replies in general terms, saying:
“I think you’ll probably hear something this summer, to be announced. And I think it’s the one you’re kind of hoping to hear about.”
Silent Hill fans have been clamoring for new Silent Hill content for years now, so the first reaction to this that many have gotten is the feeling that he’s talking about Silent Hill without actually saying the words, “Silent Hill.”
If this proves to be correct, it sounds like we may see an announcement in relation to the Silent Hill when most of the big game announcements usually take place, June and July.
Perhaps we’ll get a formal Silent Hill announcement in one of Sony’s big State of Play livestreams?
Adding credence to this idea are leaks from March 2020 which we previously reported on, and a leak from May 2020. According to @AestheticGamer1 aka Dusk Golem there will be a soft reboot of Silent Hill that isn’t a remake and is separate from Hideo Kojima and Silent Hills.
“In late 2019, a separate close friend in Japan informed me a Silent Hill game was being developed in Japan that had started dev at the start of 2019. I started doing some personal investigation from this,” Dusk Golem explains.
“The following I have evidence to believe, but I can’t verify the details (but it is from someone who would know and I verified their identity). So to lay the details of this out straight: It is developed by Sony Japan Studios & will be PS5 exclusive. Toyama is directing, Akira Yaomoka is composing, Masahiro Ito is doing art, various Siren/Gravity Rush devs and some others working on it.
This has nothing to do with Kojima or Silent Hills, that probably is not happening. Sony is NOT buying IPs, that’s bullshit. The game is NOT a remake, it is a soft reboot, made so it can be someone’s first Silent Hill game. The game is playable and has a demo that will be shown around after reveal. The details of this are not murky, there should be no miscommunication. Just to lay that all out, if all true (I believe it though).”
As Dusk Golem makes clear, none of this information can be explicitly verified so please take it in with a fair bit of skepticism.
The reason why we’re adding this into our article is because the development timing of a Silent Hill reboot mentioned in the leak fits the narrative of the “Summer 2021” announcement suggested by Akira Yamaoka in a way that’s very convincing.
Plus, with all of the remakes and reboots of other iconic franchises like Final Fantasy and Resident Evil rolling out, having a remake or reboot for Silent Hill (or a new game entirely) makes sense at this point given how beloved the series is.
Of course, before drawing any definitive Silent Hill conclusions from all of this, it’s worth noting that Akira Yamaoka could be talking about something else entirely.
Specifically, with the cryptic way The Medium ends, many have been asking whether Bloober Team has a sequel planned for the game. We don’t know the answer to this just yet, although it seems likely.
If Bloober Team does in fact have a sequel in the works, one that may be ready to go by the end of this year or early next year for example, this could be something that “people are hoping to hear about” as well.
The Medium getting a sequel obviously wouldn’t be big as a Silent Hill announcement — the one we’re all keeping our fingers crossed for — but it is a question that’s been asked a lot following The Medium’s release on January 28 and therefore we can’t rule it out.
It’s also worth mentioning in conjunction with the Silent Hill subject given the similarities between The Medium’s soundtrack and Yamaoka’s work on the Silent Hill series.
Related: 6 Things We Want to See in A New Silent Hill
After soaking in all of this information, we’re curious to hear what you think of Akira Yamaoka’s comments in his interview with Al Hub, and how it may relate to previous Silent Hill leaks.
Feel free to reach out to us on Twitter and Facebook with your theories, and stay tuned as we’ll be sure to update you on the status of this possible Summer 2021 announcement as more information is made available.
And, if you missed Akira Yamaoka’s phenomenal work on The Medium, we’ve embedded a video of him talking about his contributions alongside composer Arkadiusz Reikowski.
