A short while ago, we reported about the possibility of Konami rising from its slumber with revivals to its iconic and beloved franchises in the next Tokyo Game Show taking place later this month. Multiple hints keep circulating around as we get closer to the event about two main iconic franchises: Silent Hill and Metal Gear. For the first time, however, we have tangible images that prove one of the projects related to these franchises is indeed (possibly) real, and it is related to the Silent Hill 2 Remake project previously rumored to be helmed by Polish development outfit Bloober Team.
The photos shared reveal the main character James Sunderland as he goes through the monster-filled town of Silent Hill to search for his deceased wife. The remake still retains the third-person view, and apparently, it still continues the tradition of not having a heads-up display. In the original game, players had to enter the pause menu to check James's health, location, items, and other information. The monster shown in one of the screenshots still retains the "soured flesh" concept that Masahiro Ito, the art director behind the original has laid the grounds for.
According to reliable insider Dusk Golem, these photos are indeed real, but they do not reflect the quality of the final product. They were from an internal pitch demo by Bloober Team before the studio got the green light to work on a full Silent Hill 2 Remake. It is also claimed that this was one of a few proof-of-concept materials handed to Konami in the summer of 2018.
According to VideoGameChronicle, the project by the developer is not the only one, as there is supposed to be another project related to the IP being worked on concurrently by an as of yet unnamed Japanese developer. Separate sources, however, have said that the other project was something of a departure from past Silent Hill games, and that it might be in the vein of a "soft reboot" more than an actual 1:1 revival. The only thing that was confirmed before was that Konami hasn't really dropped the ball on this franchise, which was reassuring.
Annapurna Interactive, one of the leading publishers that has been gaining a foot in the industry lately has also been rumored to be leading a third project related to the IP, though it's said to be a collection of side stories set in the Silent Hill world instead of a remake or full-on sequel.
Previous rumors also suggested that horror-specialist Supermassive Games was also involved in talks to develop these side stories. Apparently the British developer's pitch later evolved into its own take on horror games, resulting in The Dark Pictures series.
Tokyo Game Show 2022 is will take place from September 15th to September 18th, so we won't have to wait long to see if these rumors hold any merit.