Survival horror has enjoyed something of a renaissance as of late.
The genre, which spent several years floundering in uncertainty due to a shrinking and relatively niche appeal, has clawed its way back into triple-A relevance following a prolonged timeout. Credit where it’s due: it’s thanks to indie developers devoting time and talent to the cause with gems like Outlast and Layers of Fear that scare-loving adrenaline junkies have had their appetites satiated in recent times, and arguably, it’s because of those successors that the father of survival horror finally decided that a return to its roots was in order.
Resident Evil 7 and, by extension, this year’s Resident Evil 2 remake, have not only helped to thrust Capcom’s iconic franchise back into the limelight but the entire genre, too. In such a climate, then, you’d think that Konami, as license holder of the equally historic Silent Hill series, would be eager to follow in the former’s footsteps by announcing a new entry or, at the very least, some sort of remaster.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case. In fact, it seems the publisher would much rather make use of the brand’s popularity by releasing gambling machines.
As if that wasn’t already enough of an indication in itself that Konami has no plans to restore Silent Hill‘s dignity, we’ve only got further bad news to share. The series’ official domain name, SilentHill.com, no longer belongs to Konami and, in lieu of it opting not to renew ownership, is now up for sale. We’re not joking, either.
As of writing, anyone with $9,835 burning a hole in their pocket can buy the domain name and do with it as they wish. Honestly, I’m somewhat surprised that a wealthy fan hasn’t already made the purchase, though it’s only a matter of time until someone does. Will it be Konami? Who knows, but at this point, it seems the company is all but past caring about giving Silent Hill fans what they want.
Sad times, indeed.