# Silent Hill f

Silent Hill f is an upcoming survival horror video game developed by NeoBards Entertainment and published by Konami Digital Entertainment. It is the eighth mainline game in the Silent Hill franchise. Set during the 1960s in the fictional town of Ebisugaoka, Japan, it follows Hinako Shimizu, a high school student who navigates the town, now consumed by fog, while solving puzzles and fighting grotesque monsters to survive.
As Konami felt the series had become overly Westernized, the developers moved away from the titular Maine town, where most previous entries took place, and instead set the game in Japan to reinforce a stronger Japanese identity. The company invited Ryukishi07 to write the story and brought back composer Akira Yamaoka, who had worked on the music for multiple previous Silent Hill games.
Announced in 2022, Silent Hill f is scheduled to release for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.

## Development

Silent Hill f was built around the Japanese horror concept of "find[ing] the beauty in terror", suggesting that "when something becomes too immensely beautiful and perfect, it becomes deeply unsettling". Konami enlisted writer Ryukishi07, known for his visual novel Higurashi When They Cry, as they believed they needed someone who could "really understand the essence of Japanese horror". Even though the game was conceived as a standalone story, the developers included references to the previous Silent Hill games.
While the series originally blended Japanese and Western horror elements, Konami felt it had become overly Westernized, diminishing its Japanese influence. Consequently, the team decided to create Silent Hill f as a "100% Japanese horror", emphasizing its Japanese "essence", which they regarded as central to the series despite the story usually taking place in the United States. Shifting the setting from the titular town to Japan posed a challenge, as the developers aimed to maintain the series' core themes of "portraying characters' struggles with the evil within themselves—sin, discontent, and conflict".
The game's primary setting, the town of Ebisugaoka, was inspired by Kanayama, Gero, in Gifu Prefecture. Ryukishi07 suggested Kanayama after comparing various locations, saying that its "extremely unique townscape" reflected the passage of time and the way its structures had evolved alongside residents' lifestyles. The team visited Kanayama to photograph modern sites and used reference materials to authentically recreate the 1960s setting. Ryukishi07 noted that female characters in the previous Silent Hill games endured significant suffering. With Silent Hill f, he sought to create a protagonist, Hinako Shimizu, who actively makes her own choices rather than being "pulled along by the story".
Artist Kera aimed for a visual style distinct from the "blood-smeared, rusting scenery" of the previous installments while retaining a sense of familiarity. She remarked that the most challenging aspect was monster creation, as the team wanted to combine Ryukishi07's vision with Kera's design, creating monsters that would "really infiltrate players' psyches".
Akira Yamaoka and Kensuke Inage composed the music for the game's Fog World and Otherworld, respectively. Additionally, composers Dai and Xaki, who previously collaborated with Ryukishi07, contributed to the project. Yamaoka focused on infusing the music with the series' Japanese "essence", reflecting his own cultural identity "as much as possible in my own way". Inage stated that he "blend[ed] ancient Japanese court music with ambient echoes", using various techniques to convey "agony, internal conflict, fear, and other emotions". The developers also traveled to Kanayama to record its soundscape.

## Release

In February 2021, it was reported that Konami was planning to revive the Silent Hill franchise with multiple third-party studios developing new games. Silent Hill f was officially announced during a livestream in October 2022, alongside other titles. Its reveal trailer debuted at another livestream in March 2025. The game is scheduled to release for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.