Konami has an internal “bible” covering the lore and creative identity of the Silent Hill franchise, but the document is deliberately kept away from development teams as much as possible.
The revelation comes from Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto, who discussed Konami’s approach to managing the long-running horror franchise in an interview with Radio Times Gaming. Okamoto explained that the company has a reference document defining what constitutes Silent Hill, but developers are not simply handed the material and told to follow it.
“We do technically have an internal bible for what constitutes Silent Hill,”
Okamoto said.
According to the producer, Konami believes developers can create stronger interpretations of the franchise when they research its themes themselves rather than relying entirely on an internal guide.
“We try not to distribute that to our development teams too much because I think it’s more important that they organically can do their own research and try to figure out what is symbolic to them.”
This approach helps explain why recent Silent Hill projects can feel distinctly different while still retaining recognizable elements of the franchise.
Silent Hill Gives Developers Room to Create New Nightmares
Rather than requiring every new entry to reproduce the same setting, characters, or story structure, Konami appears willing to let individual teams determine what Silent Hill means for their project.
That philosophy can be seen in Silent Hill: Townfall, developed by Glasgow-based Screen Burn Interactive. The game moves the series away from its familiar American setting and places protagonist Simon Ordell on the fictional Scottish island of St. Amelia in 1996. Konami describes the game as a self-contained psychological horror experience built around exploration, combat, evasion, and narrative puzzles.
Screen Burn’s official development material also emphasizes the studio’s focus on atmosphere, storytelling, and analog technology. The developer, formerly known as No Code, worked with Konami and Annapurna Interactive to create its own interpretation of the franchise.
Okamoto’s comments suggest that this creative independence is intentional rather than accidental. The internal lore guide can provide boundaries and a shared understanding of the franchise, while individual teams are encouraged to explore their own symbolism and themes.
Silent Hill: Townfall demonstrates how flexible the series can be without abandoning its psychological horror identity. Screen Burn introduced a new location, protagonist, enemies, and the CRTV device, which serves as an unusual evolution of the franchise’s traditional radio mechanic.
The game released on September 24, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Steam, and Epic Games Store.
For fans, the existence of a Silent Hill lore bible is intriguing, but Okamoto’s comments make its limited use arguably more interesting. Instead of forcing every studio to follow a strict blueprint, Konami appears to be using the document as an internal foundation while allowing developers to decide how they want to express the series’ psychological horror.
