In recent years, Konami hasn’t been on the greatest terms with its fans. Around the time Kojima left, it became rather apparent that the Japanese company had fallen out of love with its video game branch. Silent Hill, Castlevania, and Contra fans had been dealing with long absences for several years, but after the launch of Metal Gear Solid 5 and the delisting of PT, it became apparent that Konami was not as invested in the game industry any more. It continued to put out the occasional title and its gaming division has seen success despite its underwhelming state, but it seemed like the storied publisher’s time in the spotlight was over.
But suddenly, just in the past few days, Konami’s iconic franchises are back on the table. E3 2021 came out with an initial list of exhibitors for its digital June event, and to the surprise of many, Konami was on that list. It seems that the company intends to get back into gaming in some fashion, and that most likely involves resurrecting one or more of its classic IPs. It is spoiled for choice in that regard, and rumors have been circulating for the past year about various properties already. A close examination of the properties most with the biggest groundswell may provide some answers to what fans will see in a couple months. Overall, though, Konami is the wild card of wild cards for E3 2021, so fans should keep all expectations in check.
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Much of the rumors surrounding Konami’s many properties involve outsourcing them to other companies. According to recent reports, these projects are still years out, but they are in development. The most mysterious of these is Metal Gear Solid, as the true nature of its next entry has been inundated with rumors and fan theories. The most credible of these states that Bluepoint Games is working on a Metal Gear Solid remake for PS5, which could go over very well given its track record with Sony first-party remakes.
This project may be too far out to receive a firm announcement yet, and it’s in Sony’s best interest to use its influence over Bluepoint to get the announcement at a State of Play instead of E3 (especially since Sony won't be there). The current status of the Metal Gear film is also up in the air, though that’s been the norm ever since it was conceived. It isn’t likely that news on a film will be divulged at E3 in particular.
Next is Castlevania, which many believe another Castlevania from a third-party studio is on its way. With the success of the Castlevania Netflix show, it makes sense that Konami wants to keep the franchise alive. What makes somewhat less sense is the total lack of rumors concerning any Castlevania game projects. However, there have been no prominent theories or hints as to what a new Castlevania would entail, or which studio would be developing it.
There are a few likely studios that could be developing a new Castlevania. Artplay is still working to implement the last few promised features in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, so a whole new project on its hands may be off the table. Still, if there was anyone to tap for a Castlevania, Konami could do worse than one of its founding fathers. MercurySteam, developer of the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow trilogy, seems to be more free at the moment, but there’s no guarantee here. Fans will have to wait and see what Castlevania’s fate may be.
Last, but certainly not least, is Silent Hill. The chances of seeing a new Silent Hill project at E3 2021 are much higher than those of Metal Gear and Castlevania due to the nature of rumors concerning the horror franchise. Allegedly, multiple Silent Hill projects from different studios are in concurrent development. The likeliest culprit for developing a new installment is Bloober Team. The narrative horror developer just finished work on The Medium, which featured some music composed by legendary Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka. A pulled-down interview with him hinting about a future project related to his past work makes this dream team’s descent into Silent Hill feel very likely.
Another prominent rumor is that Kojima Productions is getting the chance to return to developing the cancelled Silent Hills. It has become well-accepted that Hideo Kojima is working on a horror game after Death Stranding, though there are no solid details on what this could entail besides Junji Ito being a potential collaborator. Fans should take this with a MAJOR grain of salt, though, as the very public falling out between Kojima and Konami doesn't feel like something that'll ever be resolved.
Regardless, the chances of at least one new Silent Hill being revealed at E3 2021 seem very high, and fans will no doubt be overjoyed to see the historic horror franchise return.
E3 2021 will take place digitally on June 12-15.
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