Silent Hill: The Short Message is dubbed the start of a "new wave" for the series, sweeping ill-fated live-stream project Ascension firmly under the rug

Silent Hill: The Short Message
(Image credit: Konami)

Konami has revealed that Silent Hill: The Short Message is the start of a "new wave" of games for the series, forgetting all about Silent Hill Ascension

Yesterday, during the PlayStation State of Play, we finally got our first look at Silent Hill: The Short Message, which after years of speculation was shadow-dropped during the presentation. The "short-form" Silent Hill game features a new protagonist, explores modern psychological horror themes, and, judging from the trailer, has P.T. energy

To promote the game's reveal, The Short Message's producer, Motoi Okamoto, discussed the game's development on the PlayStation Blog and revealed Konami's plans for the iconic horror series. Speaking about the recently launched game, Okamoto says: "We announced a revival for the Silent Hill series, along with several new titles in development, and this marks the first of that new wave of games to be released."

You may remember back in 2022, Konami held a Silent Hill Showcase which revealed games such as the Silent Hill 2 remake from Bloober Team, Silent Hill F, Silent Hill Townfall, and Silent Hill Ascension. Since The Short Message and Ascension are the only ones to be released so far, we're going to assume the "new wave" Okamoto is talking about features all of the aforementioned titles. 

What's interesting is that the developer doesn't seem to acknowledge Ascension, which launched in October 2023. The "live real-time interactive series" didn't quite hit the mark for Silent Hill fans upon its release, causing its developer to promise to consider player feedback when designing future updates. 

Elsewhere in the blog post, Okamoto discusses The Short Message's story: "We wanted to make a new, modern Silent Hill. As part of that, we explored how we could incorporate contemporary problems. We ended up looking at how modern youth communicate online and through phones, and the role that could play in a psychological horror story." 

You can see this theme in the trailer, which sees our protagonist being haunted by her phone and other mysterious threats that lurk in the darkness. 

Want to know what else is on the way? Take a look at our upcoming horror games list.

TOPICS
Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

Read more
Silent Hill f
After 2 years of silence, the next mainline Silent Hill game is getting a dedicated stream this week with "the latest news"
Silent Hill f: A close-up on Hinako Shimizu's face during the reveal trailer for the new Silent Hill game.
Silent Hill f: Everything we know about the new survival horror game
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f's re-reveal trailer shows some of the freakiest monsters I've ever seen in the 25-year-old survival horror series
Silent Hill 2 remake
As "the success of Silent Hill 2 speaks for itself," Bloober announces its continued partnership with Konami and a "truly special" new joint project
A top down view of a schoolgirl on the floor surrounded by blood-red leaves in Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f disclaimer is even making a horror buff like me shudder: "If you feel uncomfortable at any point while playing, please take a break"
Silent Hill f
After 2 years of deathly quiet, Silent Hill f has seemingly resurfaced as it gets a rating in South Korea along with Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
Latest in Horror
A character's face in horror game REPO.
Best REPO mods to improve your matches with more players and new monsters
phase zero key art showing zombies in a hallway
Former Witcher 3 and Dying Light devs reveal their Resident Evil homage, complete with PS1-style fixed cameras
First-person screenshot from ASYLUM, showing the protagonist's hand holding up a notebook while walking through a dark corridor.
After 15 years and a $120,000 Kickstarter push, this cult horror dev has finally released a successor to their 2006 breakout game
Silent Hill 2
Famed Silent Hill artist Masahiro Ito, creator of Pyramid Head, says scrapped concepts of freaky creatures "still exist in my mind" and "their children may be" used in future titles
A player carrying a potion in horror game REPO.
REPO Strength explained and how to upgrade it
A room in horror game REPO.
How to play REPO
Latest in News
channing tatum gambit in deadpool and wolverine
Marvel fans are hoping Channing Tatum's Gambit return in Avengers: Doomsday will be different from Deadpool and Wolverine
Final Fantasy 16 protagonist Clive uses magic in closeup screenshot
Despite fans begging for Tifa, Final Fantasy 16's Clive is "significantly more popular" than any other Tekken guest fighter
Spider-Man 4
There might be an obvious reason why Tom Holland's Spider-Man wasn't announced for Avengers: Doomsday
Patrick Stewart in X-Men
Marvel fans are already theorizing how Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and James Marsden's X-Men will be integrated into Avengers: Doomsday
Daredevil: Born Again episode 6
Daredevil's Charlie Cox isn't in the Avengers: Doomsday cast list – but Marvel fans have an idea about how he might still show up
Simu Liu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Simu Liu had the best reaction to Shang-Chi’s announcement for Avengers: Doomsday, but fans think it's "criminal" there hasn’t been a direct sequel