Silent Hill and Siren series creator Keiichiro Toyama just made a comeback with last year's sometimes absurd, genre-bleeding action-horror Slitterhead, but he's already working on another new game at his company Bokeh Studios.
Speaking with Famitsu to celebrate the opening of an art exhibition based on Slitterhead, Toyama explains that he originally opened the development studio with the ambition of working on various genres and ceding control to younger talent, which is something fellow horror icon Shinji Mikami also accomplished with Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Hi-Fi Rush.)
"I can't reveal the exact details, but we have started working on our next title," Toyama says (thanks for the translations, Automaton). "In the beginning, we wanted this to be a studio where we could do many different things, like implementing the ideas of younger generations and even working on more light-hearted projects."
"Once again, we have to pour in all our efforts as a studio and prove that we are up to the task. We are currently working towards that goal. However, we're still in the beginning phase, so I believe we'll be able to reveal more details [about the next game] somewhere in the future." Toyama was pretty tight-lipped on specifics, but he did say it won't manifest as a sequel to Slitterhead, which unfortunately didn't sell as well as the he would've hoped despite probably having what it takes to become a cult classic in a few generations.
While his next mysterious game is going full steam ahead, the horror icon's not sure how many hits he still has left up his sleeve. "As for how long we'll be able to continue, it becomes a difficult topic especially if we take my age into consideration," the 55-year-old said. "However, I believe that moving forward, I also have to pass the baton to the next generation."
Can't wait? Give yourself some nightmares with our list of the 25 best horror games to play right now.
