After bringing Metal Gear and Silent Hill back into the spotlight with remakes and a new release, Konami is doubling down on reviving familiar names. But it’s no longer going to just bring its old games back and call it a day anymore. Even Konami Digital Entertainment president Hideki Hayakawa says ‘rebooting’ its classic franchises has become one of its biggest priorities.
Speaking with Nikkei Gaming (via ResetEra), Hayakawa outlined Konami’s current lineup. This ranges from consistent money-printing series like eFootball and Yu-Gi-Oh! to an attempt at breathing life back into dormant franchises like Suikoden STAR LEAP and the upcoming Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse and Silent Hill 1 remake. “Reboots of existing IPs such as METAL GEAR, SILENT HILL, Castlevania, and Suikoden are important initiatives that serve as pillars of our business,” Hayakawa said.
Hayakawa pointed to Silent Hill f, which moved the series from Americana horror into rural Japan and put more emphasis on combat. Konami was worried longtime fans wouldn’t be into those changes, but he believes the gamble paid off. “That said, both with SILENT HILL f and with the full remake of SILENT HILL 2 released in 2024, taking on that challenge gave us a real sense that we earned a certain level of recognition and acclaim,” added Hayakawa.
Still, between those and stuff like Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection, the company doesn’t want to survive entirely by playing on gamers’ nostalgia. Hayakawa stressed that Konami also wants to create new franchises, pointing toward Rev. NOiR, a new action RPG developed by ILCA, the team behind Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
“From a publisher’s perspective, franchise titles offer business stability. However, because they are established series, there are often many constraints when trying to introduce new ideas. New IPs come with the difficulty of creating something from scratch, but they also make it easier to take on new challenges and provide creators with greater fulfillment and excitement,” explained Hayakawa, adding that more original IPs are apparently already in development.
It’s good to see Konami giving its old favorites another shot at life while making brand-new games. With even Castlevania and Suikoden finally getting much-deserved attention again, the floodgates are clearly wide open. Now the fun questions are: which forgotten Konami game deserves a reboot next? And how would an actual Metal Gear saga reboot look?
