This weekend on Twitter illustrator Masahiro Ito posted that he is attached to a new as of yet unannounced project as a “core member.” Previously, Ito was a monster designer working with Team Silent on the Silent Hill series, which is a property owned by Konami.
Masahiro Ito’s post on Twitter reads: “I’m working on a title as a core member. I hope the title won’t be cancelled.” As far as any details on the project or the name of the title being developed, Ito added: “About that, I can tell you nothing yet.”
In the thread that follows Ito’s tweet, other users are speculating that Ito may be referring to Silent Hills, a cancelled Silent Hill series game that became famous for its incredibly well-received demo “P.T.” or “Playable Test.” In development by Konami, Silent Hills was being directed by Hideo Kojima and was set to feature motion capture and voice acting from Norman Reedus and creative input from Guillermo del Toro. Silent Hills was cancelled by Konami and Kojima left the company, later founding Kojima Productions and releasing Death Stranding with Reedus in the role of Sam Porter Bridges. “P.T.” was removed from the PlayStation Store and rendered unplayable by Konami following the cancellation of the project.
Later, Ito wished everyone “A belated happy new year” and shared some artwork from a cancelled project he was attached to that was being developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The concept art the cancelled game is from showcases the science fiction/ horror theme and was set in Russia. In 2018, Ito confirmed that this “Russian retro sci-fi horror” project was cancelled and that he had been working with Sony on the title from 2008-2010.
Masahiro Ito worked as an artist crafting monsters and backgrounds for Konami’s Team Silent on the original Silent Hill and later served as an art director on the sequels Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3. Ito also worked as a monster designer on Clock Tower series creator Hifumi Kono’s horror title NightCry in 2016 and as a creature designer on Metal Gear Survive for Konami in 2019.
Hideo Kojima recently shared that Kojima Productions is interested in pursuing a new horror game and that Kojima is actively working on ideas for the studio’s next development project.