Silent Hill: Townfall, set for release on 24th September on PC and PS5, introduces a new gadget called the CRTV — a portable CRT screen that replaces the series' iconic radio. According to Rock Paper Shotgun, the game is set in the 1990s, a choice that aligns with using period-appropriate analog technology rather than modern devices.
Speaking at a preview event reported by Eurogamer, Townfall writer and director Jon McKellan explained that the CRTV's static and fuzziness are not simulated effects. Instead, the developers took actual gameplay footage and cutscenes and ran them through old hardware, including old TVs and pocket televisions. McKellan said the team would damage cables and hold magnets to the equipment before feeding that footage back into the game, resulting in a tool that "doesn't just look authentic; it really is authentic." McKellan also noted that giving the game's protagonist, Simon, a GPS instead of a worn paper map would have given the story "an extremely different feel."
In a separate interview with the PlayStation blog, cited by Rock Paper Shotgun, McKellan elaborated on the thinking behind using nostalgic tech. He said, "Older analog tech and gadgets mean a lot to us, and we have a real fondness for them," adding that such nostalgic elements evoke familiarity for players. He explained that the team "deliberately designed moments that play against those nostalgic feelings," noting that analog technology can feel "unstable, unreliable, or hard to trust completely." The goal, he said, was to create a situation where players must rely on the device to survive while still feeling uneasy about trusting it too much.
The CRTV and its 1990s setting are part of a broader strategy for reviving the Silent Hill franchise, according to comments from series producer Motoi Okamoto reported by both Eurogamer and PC Gamer. Eurogamer notes that Okamoto has said the key to the franchise's revival was to "cherish" its "strong psychological horror narrative," allowing more freedom to experiment with gameplay across different titles as long as that narrative core remains intact.
PC Gamer reports that at a CEDEC 2026 lecture, Okamoto explained the team wanted to avoid a "wait and see remake" — a remake made purely to test interest in the franchise. Okamoto reportedly believed that at best only about half of original players would return for a remake alone, which is why Konami announced the Silent Hill 2 remake alongside new titles like Silent Hill f and Townfall rather than releasing the remake in isolation. Okamoto praised development partners including Bloober Team, Annapurna, Screen Burn, and NeoBards, while emphasizing that establishing a clear core identity for the series — centered on psychological horror and a protagonist confronting trauma in a symbolic "inner world" — was essential before expanding into varied gameplay styles.
Since Konami's 2022 relaunch announcement, the franchise has expanded to include the Silent Hill 2 Remake, Silent Hill f, Silent Hill: Townfall, Silent Hill Ascension, the film Return to Silent Hill, and the shadow-dropped Silent Hill: Short Message, according to Eurogamer.