Summary
- A Hollow Knight: Silksong development update leaves fans with more questions than answers, causing frustration in the community.
- Team Cherry confirms the game is still in development, but has offered little information on its progress.
- The highly anticipated sequel to Hollow Knight faces delays possibly due to the studio's size and COVID-19 impacts.
As players wait on any kind of update regarding Hollow Knight: Silksong, the latest update regarding the game's development has left the community with more questions than answers. Starting off life as an expansion to the original Hollow Knight, which is widely regarded as one of the best games of the past decade, developer Team Cherry has provided very little information on the sequel, leading to a substantial amount of frustration from enthusiasts. As the game's absence slowly turns into a meme, the most recent news on its progress does nothing to satiate fans' curiosity.
Over on X (formerly Twitter), Matthew Griffin, the person behind the PR and Marketing for Hollow Knight: Silksong, responded to fans asking for news by stating, "No need to worry; Silksong is still in development."
While some have taken that to be a positive, others began probing further by asking why Team Cherry has shared little to no information regarding the project's development for just over two years. The last time any new footage of Silksong was shown was during an Xbox showcase in 2022, leading the community to speculate as to what could have delayed production.
Hollow Knight: Silksong Release Date Hopes Revived With Surprise New Update
Hollow Knight: Silksong receives a mysterious update, prompting fans to renew their hopes that a release date announcement could happen soon.
Why Is Hollow Knight: Silksong Taking So Long?
Game development is an incredibly difficult task and given that Team Cherry has yet to offer any official statement on Silksong's development, the community can only speculate as to why it's taking so long. The most obvious answer is that the studio is incredibly small and has confirmed that the sequel's scale will be significantly Hollow Knight meaning the amount of work required is, obviously, substantial. Given that Silksong's status as a sequel, not an expansion, was only announced in 2019, it's possible the project's pivot could have further slowed down development.
It's also worth ing the massive toll the global COVID-19 pandemic had on game developers, forcing many to adjust workflows and systems. Whether that was the case with Silksong is unknown but couple that with the aforementioned reasons and it's possible that Team Cherry just needs some extra time to create a product of a similar quality to Hollow Knight. As for when it will finally see the light of day, a release window is still unknown given that Silksong was meant to release in early 2023.
Hollow Knight: Silksong Has Had A Long Road To Release
Beyond a 2022 Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase that displayed some gameplay from the release, not many updates have been provided by Team Cherry thus far. What is known is that this time around, people will be taking on the role of Hornet and that much of the overall aesthetic and gameplay people have grown to love in Hollow Knight is largely staying the same within a much bigger, expanded world. A demo at the 2019 E3 event in LA further bolstered the hype for the game, as fans considered this fully playable demo as a signal the game was soon to be released. Five years later, people are still waiting with bated breath.
Though likely outdated at this point, the demo did showcase more of what was in store for the title, including areas like The Moss Grotto, a lush green forest packed with diverse enemies, and Deep Rocks, an industrial steampunk-looking area on top of a lake of lava. However, hopes that the game was anywhere near completion would be short-lived, as year after year ed with virtually no updates or news on the game.
Team Cherry has expressed in several interviews over the years that they will continue to prioritize quality over sticking to a strict timeline.
This prompted many to speculate that perhaps the game had been canceled — that is, until Xbox confirmed via X (formerly Twitter) that the game was coming out within the "next 12 months," back in 2022, which would mean before June 12, 2023. Obviously, that date has come and gone, with further delays into 2024 and a lack of details or explanations for the wait has fueled more speculation behind the elongated development of the game. With no solid release date set for Hollow Knight: Silksong, people are left to speculate about the game's progress.
Finally, An Update On Hollow Knight: Silksong
More has finally been revealed about Hollow Knight Silksong's expected release date in a new tweet from developer Team Cherry.
Hollow Knight: Silksong Is One Of The Most Anticipated Games
Team Cherry may have only shown a few gameplay clips of Hollow Knight: Silksong but that hasn't prevented the game from becoming one of the most anticipated amongst enthusiasts. This is in no small part due to the runaway success of 2017's Hollow Knight, a game that experienced a slow launch but positive reviews and ionate word-of-mouth marketing elevated it to the level of a modern classic. When it does eventually launch, Hollow Knight: Silksong will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Source: Matthew Griffin/X, Xbox/YouTube, Team Cherry, Xbox/X
