'Silent Hills' Release Date Canceled? Guillermo Del Toro On Game Release: 'It's Not Gonna Happen'

Sorry, "Silent Hills" fans. The game most likely won't reach store shelves, according to a panel discussion horror film director Guillermo del Toro participated in on Saturday evening during the 58th Annual San Francisco Film Festival. An attendee tweeted the disappointing news, which went viral on gaming forum NeoGAF.

This is the latest in a string of bad news items for those eagerly waiting to play the horror game. In early April, Japan-based developer Konami removed the Kojima Productions logo from its “Silent Hills” site, confirming that Konami had severed ties with famed video game designer Hideo Kojima after rumors surfaced of internal conflicts last month.

“Konami has switched from a studio-based to a headquarters-based organization, so [Kojima Productions] wouldn’t be listed as a studio anymore,” Konami told GameSpot on April 1. “At this time, there are no additional updates to share.”

In late March, it was rumored that “Silent Hills,” the survival horror game for Sony’s PlayStation 4, would never reach the eighth-generation console if game designer Kojima parted ways with Konami. On March 15, inside source told GameSpot that Kojima Productions, the Japanese video game development studio founded by Kojima, now 51, would cut ties with its publisher, Tokyo-based Konami, after “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” was finished.

Growing tension between the two camps led Konami to make some major changes regarding its relationship with Kojima Productions, including restricted communication and limited access to emails, phone calls and corporate Internet. A number of Kojima’s employees are now working as contractors at Konami, including Kojima himself.

“Silent Hills” was announced in 2012 and was said to be co-directed by Kojima and film director Guillermo del Toro. The game was also to star “Walking Dead” actor Norman Reedus. “Silent Hills” would have been the first Japanese-developed “Silent Hill” entry since 2004’s “Silent Hill 4: The Room.”

In August of last year, an interactive teaser for “Silent Hills” reached the PlayStation 4 via the PlayStation network. The trailer was downloaded more than a million times and received positive reviews.