No, Microsoft isn't trying to buy the Silent Hill franchise from Konami, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has confirmed on Twitter, denying a rumor that circulated earlier this week.

"Sorry, this isn't true," Spencer said in response to a question from a fan. "Not sure where the rumor started but I don't want to mislead anyone."

The rumor, which came from an anonymous source, claimed that Konami's Silent Hills was 80 percent complete when it was canceled, and that Microsoft tried to buy the franchise from the Japanese game company for "billions" of dollars. That alone should have been a red flag considering that Microsoft bought the far more successful Minecraft for 2.5 billion last year.

Yesterday, Konami addressed recent reports of its intention to distance itself from the console gaming market in favour of mobile, as well as rumors surrounding the departure of Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima.

"Konami will continue to embrace the challenge of creating entertainment content via different platforms," Konami president Hideki Hayakawa said said. "Not only mobile platforms, but for home consoles, arcade units, and cards, to meet the changing needs of the times."