Highlights
- Silksong's development time isn't that long; Baldur's Gate 3 took over 20 years between development and the latest entry before it.
- Team Cherry is only 3 people, so one should expect a longer development period.
- A release date may not be revealed soon, and that's okay. Revealing more about the game without a release date could hurt more than silence.
When it comes to painfully long gestation times, Hollow Knight: Silksong sits right up there with Red Dead Redemption 2 and Beyond Good and Evil 2, leaving fans of the first Hollow Knight to grasp at just about any piece of news, hoping for some release date information. Whenever an industry event or showcase rolls around, countless players watch with bated breath, expecting to see Silksong, and usually being disappointed by the result. At this time, Team Cherry has yet to nail down a firm release date for the sequel.
But the thing is, the wait for Hollow Knight: Silksong hasn't actually been that long, at least in comparison to games like Baldur's Gate 3, which released over two decades after its predecessor. The first Hollow Knight came out seven years ago, with the last DLC for the game, Godmaster, dropping in summer of 2018. Putting this into perspective, the gap isn't that significant, especially when game development has been known to take upwards of five or six years. Silksong was first revealed just a year after Godmaster's release, and the five years since have been an exercise in managing expectations and dealing with disappointment.
It's also worth remembering that Team Cherry is a three-person studio, so a longer development period ought to be expected.
The Case For Hollow Knight: Silksong To Feature Multiple Weapons
The upcoming Hollow Knight: Silksong has a chance to change up the formula from the first game in a unique way by giving Hornet her own armory.
Team Cherry Shouldn't Feel Pressured to Show Off Hollow Knight: Silksong Prematurely
The Wait for Silksong Has Been Long, But Only Relatively
Silksong has recently been rated in Australia, leading many to believe that the game will come out sometime this year, despite no official announcement from Team Cherry. This sort of wishful thinking, while it may or may not be realistic, is indicative of the painful relationship so many gamers have had with Silksong marketing and PR: if there's news about the game, however small, it will be viewed as evidence that the game is coming soon. Then, when the game is missing from a showcase like Summer Games Fest, or when Team Cherry remains silent on the matter of a release date, there's a sense of disappointment.
The first trailer for Hollow Knight: Silksong dropped five years ago, and it did a great job of hyping players up for an ambitious new chapter in the Hollow Knight franchise. But hype is fickle, and often leads to frustration or disillusionment—a dichotomy that has been seen time and time again in the world of gaming. Silksong's first reveal trailer, though not accompanied by a release date, planted a seed in the minds of many players, making them believe that the game would be launching relatively soon. Then, when Team Cherry delayed the game indefinitely, disappointment started to grow.
Team Cherry Should Keep Expectations In Check
Maybe a release date for Silksong will be revealed soon, and maybe it won't. Many expect the game to come out this year, but it could very well drop in 2025 or even later. The game will take as long as it needs to be as good as possible, and players should be at peace with that. At the same time, Team Cherry plays a role in managing these expectations.
Everyone's excited to see more of Silksong, but if a new trailer comes out and it isn't paired with a firm release date, it could end up exacerbating frustrations, stoking the flames of hype without giving players concrete information about what to expect from the game. If Silksong still doesn't have a release date that Team Cherry feels confident about, then that's completely fine, but the developer should play things close to the chest in that case. More Silksong news, be it a press release, gameplay trailer, or something similar, should only see the light of day when Team Cherry has a specific, imminent release date in mind.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Franchise
- Hollow Knight
- Platform(s)
- PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series S , Xbox Series X , PC , macOS , Linux
- Developer(s)
- Team Cherry
- Publisher(s)
- Team Cherry
- Genre(s)
- Metroidvania
