Konami's next Silent Hill installment, Silent Hill: Townfall, is being developed by Screen Burn Interactive in partnership with Annapurna, following Silent Hill f's experimental take on the franchise. According to a hands-on preview from Kotaku, the game is set in the fictional Scottish town of St. Amelia, inspired by the real village of St Monans, and follows protagonist Simon Ordell, who arrives in the town after climbing out of the ocean with a mysterious IV plugged into his arm. The game is presented in first-person with a cinematic 2:35:1 aspect ratio rather than the standard 16:9 used in most games.
Director Jon McKellan told Kotaku that Simon was deliberately designed as an outsider—a person of color who is not from St. Amelia or Scotland—so players would share his disorientation exploring an unfamiliar town. McKellan also said the Scottish setting came naturally to the team, many of whom grew up there, recalling heavy fogs that made photos taken from their windows look like Silent Hill.
During the four-hour preview, Kotaku's writer explored a deserted town, solved puzzles using a portable CRTV device that displayed hints and doubled as a monster-detecting mini-map (limited to one enemy per channel), and fought a bladed, armless enemy using a wooden plank, stealth, or distraction tactics like thrown bottles and radios. Combat involved managing a heart bar and weapon durability; dying triggered a black liquid injection that revived the player with partial health outside combat. The preview also touched on a hospital-care theme running through the story, including a nurse-costumed love interest, a scalpel used to cut through doors, and a late-game shift where the town turned red, industrial pipes blocked paths, and Simon gained a pistol with limited ammo.
Separately, PC Gamer spoke with McKellan and series producer Motoi Okamoto ahead of a planned Gamescom preview. McKellan described it as 'utterly terrifying' for the team to release the next entry in a franchise he grew up loving, citing Silent Hill 1 and 2 as childhood favorites, while acknowledging the pressure of following Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill f. He said Townfall leans into familiar Silent Hill themes while aiming to subvert expectations and take players on a different journey that still feels like Silent Hill. The PC Gamer piece also notes the game is set in 1996, around the era of the internet's integration into everyday life.
Producer Motoi Okamoto told PC Gamer that the franchise's core identity is its strong psychological horror narrative, and that as long as that remains intact, the team feels free to experiment with gameplay style—pointing to how Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill f, and Townfall all offer different gameplay experiences despite sharing that narrative core. Kotaku's preview confirms Silent Hill: Townfall is scheduled for release on September 24 for PlayStation 5 and PC. A planned IGN preview was referenced but its content could not be included here due to access issues.