After an eight-month absence, Starfield has returned with a new release date and a clear path forward. Things were looking dicey after the game was delayed from late 2022 to the first half of 2023, then quietly disappeared following its gameplay reveal at the June 2022 Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase. However, it has now returned with a September 2023 launch window and another livestream presentation in June. Coincidentally, the comparably long-awaited game Hollow Knight: Silksong also vanished after appearing in that same showcase. The only difference is Silksong still doesn't have a release date.
Starfield and Hollow Knight: Silksong represent similar things to different people. On Starfield's end, Bethesda fans have been waiting since Fallout 4 for a new singleplayer RPG from the industry giant. Fallout: 76 has improved over time, but it's still not the experience many players want. For Hollow Knight: Silksong, a passionate fan base concentrated around the indie metroidvania Hollow Knight has been waiting for the expansion-turned-sequel since its 2019 announcement. The scale is different, but the rejoicing when these games come out will be comparable. Unfortunately, even though Starfield sorted out its development delays, it feels like Silksong is being pushed further away because of it.
Starfield and Silksong Allegedly Shared a Release Window
The source of these feelings is the very Xbox Showcase that both games appeared in, one at the beginning and one at the end. Hollow Knight: Silksong was positioned near the show's opening to surprise and interest viewers, many of which have been hoping to see Silksong in almost every Nintendo Direct for the past two years. Even so, all that was announced was Xbox skews and a day-one Game Pass release. Some new footage was available to analyze, but the show continued without any word of a release date.
Everything changed when the presentation concluded. Fans looked to the official Xbox Twitter account to ask about a particular statement made during the presentation regarding every game there being playable in the next twelve months. Silksong in particular was brought up, meaning that all of a sudden, the Hollow Knight community was looking at an actual release window for Silksong, and it was just around the corner. When Sony later announced that Silksong was also coming to PlayStation platforms, it seemed like a precise release date was going to drop at any moment.
Thanks To Starfield, Silksong's Release Date Is Unknown Again
Unfortunately, all of this hype was predicated on one quickly debunked promise. Xbox's June 2022 commitment to fans was not binding in any way, and the realities of game development meant that schedules had to change. Starfield, the capstone of that Xbox Games Showcase, didn't actually get a firm release date until March 2023's announcement of September 6. That lies outside the promised twelve-month window and retroactively means every other unreleased game at the conference could miss that timeframe as well, with Silksong being the prime suspect.
Besides a recent statement by the lead playtester that the final game will be worth the wait, Silksong has had no major announcements since its console skews were revealed in 2022. The end is nowhere in sight, and if Xbox's next star game is allowed to take its time, then there's nothing keeping an indie title from doing the same. Until otherwise stated, it's business as usual for Hollow Knight: Silksong. If no word on it surfaces in the few months remaining before the 2023 Xbox Showcase, then at least fans can take solace knowing that Hollow Knight: Silksong isn't rushing its launch, and it should come out with the polish fans expect from the Hollow Knight name.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is coming soon to PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
