Abandoned is a survival horror game. Silent Hill is a series of survival horror games. Does this mean that Abandoned is actually, super-secretly a new Silent Hill game? Probably not. Maybe. Dunno.
Let’s discuss.
For about a week now, Abandoned and indie developer Blue Box Games Studios have been the subject of an Internet Conspiracy™ on Reddit and other social media channels, claiming that the project is an elaborate marketing bamboozle by Metal Gear and Death Stranding director and Japanese video game auteur Hideo Kojima. Although the game was debuted back in April, it started generating some hype on 15 June with this now-deleted post on Twitter by Blue Box.
Guess the name: Abandoned = (First letter S, Last letter L). Reveal closing in… #PS5 #Exclusive.
“Survival”? Too obvious. “Squirrel”? Don’t be absurd. “Social”? Okay, but we’re talking about gamers. It must be suckers lol Silent Hill, because what words besides special, school, shell, scandal, skill, snowball, snail, and smell and lots of others even start with s and end in l anyway? PROOFS.
With this confirmation bias conveniently established, linking more evidence to support the hypothesis was no problem. Like this Instagram photo of Hideo Kojima holding up a blue box. A BLUE BOX, YOU GUYS. WE SOLVED IT, SCOOBY!
Less conveniently, however, Blue Box has denied everything. Multiple times, including a disclaimer on the company’s website and most recently, this video.
Quick message from Hasan: pic.twitter.com/1oVeaMvu3w
— BLUE BOX Game Studios (@BBGameStudios) June 22, 2021
But if you think this thing over, you’re wrong.
It’s still Kojima guys they are playing with us
— 💎Volkan Dogru💎 #PS5🔥 (@VolkanDogru_18) June 22, 2021
So, is it or isn’t it? Up to you, but I don’t think so – for one reason. Hideo Kojima is kind of a big deal. Blue Box, not so much. The developer’s previous credits include a failed Kickstarter campaign in 2015 (awkward) and The Haunting: Blood Water Curse, a Steam Early Access game launched in 2020 to “mostly negative” reviews (also awkward) that you wouldn’t even know is a Blue Box game unless you clicked the external website URL (even more more awkward).
Nah.