Video Games
Konami Confirms New ‘Silent Hill’ Entry in Development [Updated]
UPDATE: Konami has issued a clarification regarding the earnings results, stating that the game in question is Silent Hill: Townfall.
Konami appear to be sticking to their claim of a new Silent Hill title every year, according to their latest earnings report. The publisher’s latest earnings results confirms that along with the upcoming remake of the PS1 original currently in development by Bloober Team, a separate brand-new entry is also in the works.
“As a continuation of our ongoing efforts, we are currently developing a brand-new title in the Silent Hill series, as well as a remake of the first installment, Silent Hill,” reads the report. Apart from that small blurb, no other details on the new entry were revealed.
As mentioned back in December, series producer Motoi Okamoto mentioned in a year-end interview with Japanese gaming website 4Gamer that Konami is looking to release a new entry in the series of about one title per year. “I’m not sure how much of that we’ll be able to realize, but I’ll continue to do my best as producer of the Silent Hill series,” said Okamoto. “Ideally, we’d like to keep excitement around the Silent Hill series going at all times.”
And while we still haven’t had confirmation from No Code Games and Annapurna Interactive regarding the release of Silent Hill: Townfall (which had been announced back in 2022), one would again hope that the rumoured 2026 release sticks.
The rumoured cuts at Xbox have come to fruition, with plans to lay off 3,200 employees. In addition, five studios are also set to be let go, with Double Fine and South of Midnight developer Compulsion breaking off to go independent, while Ninja Theory (Senua) and Undead Labs (State of Decay 3) have been sold.
The fifth studio, Marvel’s Blade and Dishonored studio Arkane Lyon, is set to be divested from Xbox Game Studios, though details are still being kept under wraps.
Per Xbox Wire, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirmed the layoff and divestment plans at Xbox, but announced no plans for closures or game cancellations.
According to Sharma, Xbox is operating at “margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses.” Sharma acknowledged Xbox’s previous pivots to Game Pass, multi-platform, and a “broader portfolio of content” have resulted in “meaningful value”, but it hasn’t been enough.
“Since 2018, we have aggressively expanded our studio portfolio while the number of games created each month across the industry now outpaces the last ten years combined,” she said. “We now find ourselves competing not only with the largest publishers, but also with smaller independent studios. It is neither possible nor desirable to own every great independent studio.”
As a result, Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions “will return to management and transition to independent studios with their IP, catalog, and runway for their next games.” Meanwhile, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs “have entered terms to join new ownership with funding to complete and grow Senua and State of Decay 3.” As for Arkane Lyon, the studio’s management “is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options.”
The 3,200 cuts will be made throughout Xbox’s financial year across departments, with some areas being more affected than others. This is expected to affect around 20% of the developer’s workforce.
In addition, Bethesda will also undergo “a significant overhaul”, and will pivot to focus on its core franchises: Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein. None of our first party publicly announced games or projects are being cancelled as part of these reductions.
“These changes are about a bigger future for Xbox, not a smaller one,” says Sharma. “The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we’ve seen before. This year, we’ll invest as much in Xbox as we ever have, but we’ll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making Xbox where the world plays and creates.”