After the immense success of its predecessor, the hype forHollow Knight: Silksongis palpable. It makes sense, given how transformative for the Metroidvania genreHollow Knighthas been, inspiring many clones and often being used as the benchmark for other Metroidvania titles. However, the hype train has been stalling for years now after the long, painful wait forSilksong. Having been announced back in 2019, it has been six years of waiting, withSilksongbeginning as a DLC that expanded into its own game, but there is some hope that the sixth year will be the last.
Although Team Cherry, the Australian development team behind theHollow KnightIP, had remained largely silent onSilksongfor a long time, Nintendo put out a release window for the game during its Nintendo Direct stream for the Switch 2.According to Nintendo,Silksongwill release some time in 2025, and without a specific date it is likely to be later in the year, but this isn’t the first timeSilksonghas had a release window. Having been burned before, it might not be time to put one-hundred trust into this release window, even if it ends up being true.
Very Little Has Been Shown Of The Game
In a montage showing several third-party games, newHollow Knight: Silksongfootage was shown for a brief time in theNintendo Direct Switch 2stream, and some on-screen graphics confirmed thatSilksongwould release in 2025. This new footage is the first fans have had in seemingly years,causing a meltdown in the community, with Daily Silksong News and Mossbag finally having something to talk about, but there is a concern about how little was shown.Silksongis a big deal considering how massiveHollow Knightstill is, and should have had its own trailer if footage was available.
WhileHollow Knighttakes place in Hallownest,Silksongwill take place in Pharloom, a separate kingdom.
Still, having actualSilksongnews and new footage is a big deal for a community that has been living on scraps for years. TheNintendo EuropeX account doubled down on the 2025 release window, ensuring that everyone knows that window is real, andit is assumed that Team Cherry signed off on this window announcement. But this isn’t the first release windowSilksonghas been given, and it might not be the first time fans get burned. I, for one, will not believeSilksongis released until it ends up in my Steam library after six years of waiting.
It Was Supposed To Release In 2023
Back in 2022, players were treated to a one-minute trailer announcing thatSilksongwould come to Xbox Game Passon day one, with a release window coming out soon after for early 2023. The trailer was wonderful, showing players everything they wanted to see, and the2023 release window seemed reasonable with four years of development, considering that the firstHollow Knighttook just under three years. Instead, the game was delayed without a new release window, and players didn’t receive much news until the Nintendo Direct.
The Nintendo Direct caused controversy regarding the price of the games, withMario Kart Worldbreaking the $70 standard at $79.99.
Although this2025 release windowseems more concrete, with Nintendo pushing it hard, it is difficult for me to believe it untilSilksongis in my library, and I’m actually playing the game. This isn’t the first windowSilksongfans have had, andit could lead to another delay, breaking hearts all over again. Still,Silksongcould release this year, given how much the window is being pushed and how Matthew Griffin (Team Cherry’s head of marketing) reposted the release date confirmation, but I’m not quite ready to believe it, especially with Team Cherry’s track record of delays and silence.
There’s So Much Work To Do For Such A Small Team
The Scope Of The Game Has Been An Issue
Silksongsounds like it is going to be massive, considering thatHollow Knightdidn’t haveeverything Team Cherry wantedto add before it ran out of money and was forced to release the game.Silksongcould be the biggest Metroidvania to date, which would be amazing considering how small Team Cherry is.The team is made up of three developers, and the amount of work each developer has to do is mind-boggling to think about. If there is another delay, it would be reasonable from a logistical point of view.
Hollow Knight: Silksong Is No Longer The Most Wishlisted Game On Steam, & I’m Shocked At What Beat It
Hollow Knight: Silksong has been a favorite among Steam wishlisters for awhile now. In a shocking turn of events, one game has now surpassed Silksong.
Still, with Matthew Griffin and Nintendo pushing the 2025 release window, this is probably the closest the community has gotten toHollow Knight: Silksongand there is a reason to get excited. The problem lies with the potential that history will repeat itself with another delay and break everyone’s hearts again. I’m not quite ready to hang my hopes on this window until it is narrowed down to a specific date, having hadSilksongon my wishlist since 2019. I do hope 2025 isSilksong’s year, but I’m not confident it will be yet.
