Last week, Konami hosted a broadcast dedicated entirely toSilent Hill f, the next mainline installment in theSilent Hillfranchise. The livestream only lasted for about 30 minutes and, although it didn’t contain any proper gameplay footage, it was packed with important new information about the game’s setting and plot. Konami confirmed thatSilent Hillfwill take place in the fictional town of Ebisugaoka, Japan, which is inspired by the real-life Kanayama district in the Japanese city of Gero. The company also revealed that the game will star a young high school girl named Hinako Shimuzu, who has to fight for her life in Ebisugaoka as it gets consumed by fog and taken over by bizarre monsters.
Unlike the previous game in the series, 2024’sSilent Hill 2remake,Silent Hill fis going to be a fully multi-platform game. Konami announced that it is not only going to be released on PlayStation 5 and Steam, but on Xbox Series X/S, Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store, as well. Despite dedicating an entire event toSilent Hill f, however, Konami didn’t provide a release window of any kind for the game. Normally, this would imply that it is still years away from being launched, but inSilent Hill f’s case, the game could be closer to being released than one might think.
Silent Hill f Could Come Out Sooner Than Some Might Expect
Silent Hill f Was Recently Rated by the ESRB
Shortly after theSilent Hill fbroadcast was held, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (a.k.a. the ESRB) uploaded an official rating for the upcoming game on its website. To no one’s surprise,Silent Hill fwas rated M for mature audiences, and for good reason. According to the description provided by the board, the game contains a lot of gruesome imagery and disturbing subject matter, including, but not limited to, torture, mutilation, and self-harm. Even though there isn’t any context provided for these unsavory acts of violence, it’s evident thatSilent Hill fis not going to be for the faint of heart.
Most Games Are Released Less than a Year After Receiving an ESRB Rating, So Silent Hill f May Be Launched Soon
The most interesting part aboutSilent Hill f’s ESRB rating isn’t necessarily the content itself, but rather the existence of the rating. Most games tend to receive ESRB ratings less than a year before they’re released, and Konami titles are no exception to this rule. TheSilent Hill 2remake, for instance, wasrated by the ESRB near the end of March 2024, around six months before the game came out on October 8. Bearing this in mind, it’s entirely possible thatSilent Hill fwill be released within a similar timeframe.
IfSilent Hill factually follows the same release pattern asBloober Team’sSilent Hill 2remake, then it may potentially come out as early as Q3 2025; in other words, sometime between July and September. Assuming this does happen, Konami will, of course, have to balance out its upcoming release schedule in order to not negatively impact the sales of its games. The company currently has two major projects scheduled for 2025:Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake EaterandEdens Zero, the latter of which doesn’t have a specific launch window yet.
Silent Hill f’s Placement on Konami’s Release Schedule Depends on Other Upcoming Games
SinceMetal Gear Solid Delta: SnakeEateris going to be releasedon July 01, 2025, the chances ofSilent Hill fbeing launched in the same month are very slim. As such, the game will probably be released either shortly before or after August. IfSilent Hill fisn’t ready in time for a Q3 2025 release, however, then maybe Konami will replicate what it did with theSilent Hill 2remake by launching the game in October instead. As long asGrand Theft Auto 6isn’t scheduled for that month, a horror game likeSilent Hill fwould fit perfectly within the spooky season.
