Konami has once again shown interest in the gaming space with this recently Silent Hill resurrection. Reports are swirling around alleging that that initiative was also used by Metal Gear Solid and Castlevania. This can be further supported by a new trademark that appears to have some connections to the fantastical, vampire-rich franchise.
As stated by Gematsu, Konami has applied for a trademark on March 7 (which was published on March 15) for something called Project Zircon. This is clearly a temporary name and is no longer a trademark that refers to any specific title. It is also not a video game, because it has many definitions that both can be applied to games (such as “game software” and “game program”) and cannot (such as “money changer” and “ticket issuing machine” ).
However, zircon is a gemstone found in Castlevania series and odd the least value. It was first described in 1997 by 1997 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as the Sparkling Ring and later appeared on the PlayStation 2’s Lament of Innocence and Order of the Ecclesia in DS.
This is a slow link that grows stronger in the context of the aforementioned reports. Reported by Video Games Chronicle in October 2021 that Konami is alive again Metal Gear Solid, Castlevaniaand Silent Hill. The outlet, after the Silent Hill part of the report turned out to be accurate, then came out with another report in February that said Konami will have a big E3 and will probably show a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake and new Castlevania.
Konami has also recently responded to the desire for more Castlevania in an interview with IGNwhich is exposed to Dead Cells‘ recently Castlevania– focused expansion Back to CastlevaniaTsutomu Taniguchi, Konami Back to Castlevania supervisor, acknowledged the “excitement and enthusiasm of the fans online” and said that it “really encouraged the [Konami].”
There is a pattern for crossover DLC that has sown the seeds for full-fledged games in the past for Konami, as Silent Hill DLC came on Dead in the Sun in 2020, leading to Silent Hill revival in a few years.