In a recent interview with Famitsu, Silent Hill: The Short Message Producer and Director Motoi Okamoto talked about the decision to release the game for free. [Thanks, Famitsu!]
During the interview, Okamoto revealed that the original purpose of creating the game was for research and development, and so that younger audiences unfamiliar with the series could access the game easily and without reservations. The developer also said that, while the series has a well-established popularity it hasn’t received a game for more than 10 years, so even if people know the game a lot of them have not played a game.
Additionally, Okamoto mentioned that had Silent Hill: The Short Message been a paid title, the developers might have needed to add more conventional elements to the title such as combat mechanics, or include various different endings.
Silent Hill: The Short Message is the first mainline title in the series since Silent Hill: Downpour, developed by Vatra Games and released in 2012. The Short Message was developed by both Konami and HexaDrive, and released for free after the January 2024 State of Play showcase on January 31, 2024.
Silent Hill: The Short Message is immediately available for free for the PlayStation 5.
