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Sony Rumoured To Buy Silent Hill, Metal Gear And Castlevania

Sony is rumoured to buy some significant Konami properties. These include Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania, and Silent Hill. The company apparently want to increase their output in the realm of Japanese games. Konami was once one of the biggest names in gaming. Franchises like Castlevania, Dance Dance Revolution, Metal Gear, and Silent Hill have made the publisher a household name. Unfortunately, the company’s output has greatly changed over the last few years. As the cost of development has steadily risen, Konami’s interest in funding new games has significantly diminished. While the company still publishes games, their output is much more focused on compilations and re-releases, these days.

The news follows previous reports that two new Silent Hills projets are in the works for PS5, and that Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima is involved in helping revive the dormant survival horror franchise, years after his original reboot at Konami Silent Hills was cancelled. The info states that, should Konami be interested making in the sale, Kojima’s independent studio could then be brought aboard to help PlayStation revive the Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill series, presumably for its upcoming next-gen console.

According to the rumours, Sony is hoping to get a full reboot of Castlevania off the ground, working with long-time game developers Koji Igarashi and Shutari Iida. It’s believed that the reboot would come via Sony Japan, and would feature “Bloodborne-style” graphics.

As for the future of Silent Hill, it’s not just the 4Chan rumour that’s making the rounds. Rely On Horror which has been correct about similar leaks in the past claims that not only is more SH on the cards, but that it’ll feature members of the original dev team known as Team Silent, the creative masterminds behind the original (and best) games in the series.

Masahiro Ito (creature designer for the first four titles in the series), is rumoured to be on board with the project, which aligns with previous rumours we’ve heard on the matter. Other Team Silent members, Keiichiro Toyama (director and writer of the original 1999 Silent Hill) and Akira Yamaoka (composer for the majority of the franchise) are also slated to return, according to the publication’s sources. The plan is for a “soft reboot” of the franchise, which is claimed to be now under the control of Sony as opposed to Konami. If this is the case, expect some big money to have swapped hands to make this happen.

It should be noted that this is all rumor at this time, and even if Sony were to make Konami an offer for those franchises, there’s no guarantee that Konami would part with one, or any of them. Castlevania, in particular, has proven to be quite lucrative for the publisher, thanks to the success of the Netflix series. While Konami seems less than interested in developing new games in these franchises, it’s hard to believe that they wouldn’t want to retain them for licensing purposes. That said, this is one rumor fans might want to take with a grain of salt. Still, the gaming industry has seen its share of buy-outs and mergers through the years. If Sony truly is looking to bolster their in-house brands, Konami’s franchises make a lot of sense. If successful, it could have a major impact on the industry moving forward.

As always with leaks, take the rumours with a pinch of salt for now.