Fatal Frame/Project Zero producer says he's "never really given up on the idea" of a new game
But the decision is down to Nintendo, he says.
The series producer of Project Zero - or Fatal Frame, as the series was known outside of Europe - Keisuke Kikuchi, says that while he's open to expanding the series, it's ultimately up to IP co-holders Nintendo to decide whether or not we'll get a remake or a new instalment of the terrifying series.
"Even though I have these hopes, this is a series that Nintendo publishes for us and I only handle the development," Kikuchi told Nintendo Everything. "So even if I were to say I want to make another game, that doesn't necessarily mean that's what will happen."
Kikuchi's also unsure on whether we'll see any remakes of the celebrated horror series, either, but while he's "never really given up on the idea", "it's not exactly realistic at the moment".
"As for Fatal Frame 2 and 4, Nintendo handles the publishing rights, so we don't exactly have a say in that matter," he added. "Another factor would be is that I'm basically overseeing the Gust brand at this moment, and to secure production lines and team members, in the short-term it would also be very difficult, but in the long run I've never really given up the idea. So in the short-term it's not exactly realistic at the moment."
Tecmo's Project Zero IP is now co-owned by Nintendo. Nintendo updated its copyright status way back in 2012 to acquire co-ownership of the Fatal Frame IP. The Kyoto-based company also appears to have full ownership of the spin-off Spirit Photography IP and Project Zero 2: Wii Edition, a remake of Project Zero 2: Crimson Butterfly.
While we might not know when we'll next get a new game, a Fatal Frame/Project Zero movie is in the works, with Silent Hill movie director Christophe Gans confirming he did not want to "uproot the game from its Japanese haunted house setting".
The last Fatal Frame instalment released on the Wii U in 2015. Aoife didn't think much of it, stating in the Eurogamer review: "I was hoping for a return to form for this series, a reason to sit around in the dark with those same friends and relive the rituals of old. What Maiden of Black Water is instead is a repetitive slog through the same environments meeting the same ghosts so often that any power they have to scare is very quickly lost. If you've never played a Project Zero game before, you might well enjoy some of the more atmospheric locations; the tattered tatami mats, the glowing Shinto shrines, the - I wish I was making this up - womb cavern. But otherwise, don't turn off the lights. Turn off the console, get up, walk out, and close the door behind you."
