Konami says Silent Hill series is alive, but dodges question on current game

Even when it asks the questions, Konami declines to comment on what's going on with the rumored now-dead Silent Hills.

In a pre-written question and answer statement sent out by Konami today, the company asked itself what will happen with Silent Hill, the answer addresses the series, not the game.

"Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd will continue to develop the 'Silent Hill' series," according to the statement.

The almost reticent comments come after a weekend of comments from those directly involved in the game saying it is dead.

Saturday night the director Guillermo del Toro, who had been co-directing the game with Hideo Kojima, is said to have told attendees at a film festival in San Francisco that Silent Hills "is not gonna happen," according to an attendee via Twitter. Del Toro's assistant retweeted that, and then made other comments indicating the project was being shelved.

Sunday, Norman Reedus, the Walking Dead actor playing Silent Hills' protagonist, echoed the sentiment on his own Twitter.

Both comments come after news hit Friday that P.T., the game's "playable teaser," would be pulled from PlayStation Network on April 30, another sign pointing to a strange breakup between Konami and Hideo Kojima, who was collaborating with Del Toro in directing Silent Hills.

In the canned Q&A, Konami writes that Norman Reedus' contract period with Konami has expired, which is why he has disappeared from the game's official website and that P.T. is no longer on the PlayStation network because its distribution period has expired.

Polygon reached out for news about the fate of the game, and was told by a person with knowledge of the project's development that it is effectively canceled.

Konami representatives have not responded to Polygon's multiple requests for comment. Polygon also reached out to Del Toro's assistant and Reedus' publicist.

If Silent Hills is shut down, attention now turns to Konami's other franchises, namely Metal Gear Solid. Last month, Konami removed Kojima's name and the Kojima Productions logo from the official Metal Gear Solid websites, Twitter accounts and marketing materials. That spawned reports that Kojima would be leaving the publisher for whom he as worked his entire career.

While Kojima has remained silent during this breakdown, sources tell Polygon he is looking to go elsewhere and isn't Tweeting out of concern of breaking his contract.

Silent Hills was, with Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain one of only two console games actively under development to be published by Konami. Phantom Pain is due for a Sept. 1 launch. A third franchise, Pro Evolution Soccer, typically launches in the fall but its latest edition has not been announced.

Update: Silent Hills is dead, Konami tells Polygon.