Silent Hill 2 Art Director Confirms Every Ending Is Canon

The Silent Hill fan community has always been vibrantly alive with discussion about the horror series, talking about everything from characters' complex backstories to the town of Silent Hill's convoluted lore. The community has been more alive than ever with discussion and theories recently given the revival of the Silent Hill franchise, including a Silent Hill 2 remake and new games like Silent Hill: Ascension.

One recurring question that comes up about Silent Hill 2 is whether the infamous 'In Water' ending is canon - and if it's not, then what's the real, canon ending to the iconic psychological horror game, and what is James Sunderland's fate? Silent 2 Art Director Masahiro Ito put an end to the decades-long disagreement on his Twitter account, confirming that "all of the [Silent Hill 2] endings are canon."

There are six possible endings to Silent Hill 2 - Leave, In Water, Maria, Rebirth, Dog, and UFO - and apparently, all of them are 100% real in their own way. Most of the endings to Silent Hill 2 are shocking in their own way, and many players are strongly opinionated about which one is their favorite.

All of the endings are canon. It's not like "In Water" is the only canon. 😊 https://t.co/MAbDZMFPB4

— 伊藤暢達/Masahiro Ito (@adsk4) July 18, 2023

While all of those dark endings are canon in their own universes, so is the Dog ending, in which James Sunderland discovers that the source of his plight is, in fact, a shibe named Mira controlling the game and its plot from behind a computer screen. It also encompasses the UFO ending, which has James meeting Silent Hill 1's protagonist, Harry Mason, and some aliens.

It's certainly nice to have some closure on Silent Hill 2's ending, as the game's dark, psychological themes have haunted players for ages and will no doubt continue to so do for years to come, given the increased availability of the original game with the Enhanced Edition and the upcoming remake by Bloober Team.