Team Cherry has provided some insight into what it was like to develop Hollow Knight: Silksong over the course of seven long years. By far the most highly anticipated indie game of 2025, a release date for Hollow Knight: Silksong was just revealed, and fans who've been clamoring for the sequel to 2017's indie darling Hollow Knight will only have to wait two weeks until they can play it.
It's been many long years since Hollow Knight: Silksong was initially revealed. The game began as DLC for the original Hollow Knight but grew in scope and scale to become its very own game. This is common for AAA gaming franchises, as the same was confirmed for Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Mirage and Techland's imminent Dying Light: The Beast. H owever, it's quite rare to see within the realm of indie games. Silksong showed up during Xbox's 2022 summer showcase, where it was promised to be released before June 2023. Two years later, the game had yet to be released, but fans were left stunned following Team Cherry's recent release date confirmation.
How Many Days Passed Between Each Hollow Knight: Silksong Announcement?
Updates on Hollow Knight: Silksong have been sporadic at best, and this is most evident in the gaps between each announcement for the game.
Hollow Knight: Silksong's Development Was Surprisingly Smooth
When a game takes this long to develop, it's typically due to roadblocks and setbacks behind the scenes, but according to Team Cherry Co-Founders Ari Gibson and William Pellen, the complete opposite was the case with Hollow Knight: Silksong. In a lengthy interview with Bloomberg, the pair spoke about how much fun they had developing Silksong, remarking that the extended seven-year development period was a result of how much they were enjoying the process of coming up with new ideas to put into the game. "It was never stuck or anything. It was always progressing. It’s just the case that we’re a small team, and games take a lot of time...I remember at some point I just had to stop sketching...You realize, ‘If I don’t stop drawing, this is going to take 15 years to finish,'" Gibson said
With stories of troubled video game development cycles, cancellations, and projects stuck in "Development Hell" common in the gaming sphere, it's refreshing to hear about how pleasant Silksong's seven-year dev cycle really was. The fact that Gibson needed to stop himself from working more on the game bodes well for fans who are hoping to be amazed by Hollow Knight: Silksong's size and scale. Silksong is confirmed to be a larger game than the original, with multiple different hub areas compared to Hollow Knight.
It was never stuck or anything. It was always progressing. It’s just the case that we’re a small team, and games take a lot of time...I remember at some point I just had to stop sketching...You realize, ‘If I don’t stop drawing, this is going to take 15 years to finish.'
Team Cherry's perfectionist attitude and commitment to quality and polish sound incredibly promising for what's sure to be one of the most beloved indie games of the year. With Gibson expressing that he could've kept Silksong's development going even longer, Hollow Knight fans should be excited about the prospect of Silksong receiving tons of DLC in the future. For now, Hollow Knight: Silksong will be released on September 4 for PC and console.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 91 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- September 4, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Developer(s)
- Team Cherry
- Publisher(s)
- Team Cherry
