Pixel Sundays: Hollow Knight – The Journey to the Coronation with Silksong
Today, our Pixel Sundays article is about a franchise that went from a Kickstarter project to a modern Metroidvania icon and is considered the most hyped game of 2025. Of course, we are talking about the Hollow Knight franchise, with the release of Hollow Knight Silksong just around the corner.
Summary
- Origin & Success of Hollow Knight
- Hollow Knight Silksong: From DLC to Long-Awaited Sequel
- Release Details & Platforms
- Silksong Scope & Gameplay Innovations
- Hollow Knight Community Hype & Cultural Impact
- Hollow Knight Silksong in the Context of 2025
- Future Outlook & Part of the Overall Story
- Conclusion – The Crowning of the Hollow Knight Universe
At Gamescom 2025, Team Cherry announced that Hollow Knight Silksong will release on September 4, 2025. At Gamescom, fans could play the demo, and the game will be available day one on the Xbox Game Pass. This new adventure takes Hornet to Pharloom and promises over 200 new enemies and 40+ bosses.
Origin & Success of Hollow Knight
It all started with a Game Jam (Ludum Dare 27). There, a prototype was created called “Hungry Knight”. The developers (Rohan Fraser, Ari Gibson, and William Pellen) participated under the name Team Cherry. The idea was a world of minimalist insect characters in a harsh setting with precise 2D feel. The game was then funded on Kickstarter, raising around €32,000 from 2,158 backers.
As an indie game, its release started small before exploding in popularity. Hollow Knight launched on February 24, 2017 for PC, then two months later on Mac, in 2018 on Switch, and finally on September 25, 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Alongside, Team Cherry released four free content packs adding new bosses, QoL features, and endgame challenges.
The game’s style was defined by Ari Gibson’s hand-drawn 2D aesthetic. Critics praised the world-building, soundtrack, and challenging boss designs. Its long-term success is measurable: by August 2025, Hollow Knight had sold over 15 million copies (with 12 million sold after Silksong’s announcement).
Hollow Knight Silksong: From DLC to Long-Awaited Sequel
Originally, Silksong was planned as a DLC for Hollow Knight. However, Hornet’s adventure grew so much that Team Cherry announced it as a standalone game on February 14, 2019. They said the project had become “too big and unique” for an add-on. Players will take control of Hornet as the new protagonist in the new kingdom of Pharloom, featuring acrobatic combat gameplay and 200+ new enemies.
Development stretched out as the team wanted to add more content and were having fun creating. Thanks to Hollow Knight’s success, they had enough financial freedom and no time pressure. This allowed Team Cherry to shape the game at their own pace. During this time, there were numerous announcements such as its inclusion in the Xbox Game Pass at launch. Of course, there were also many delays, but recently a near-final version was playable at Gamescom 2025. In early 2026, the game will also release in physical editions for Switch and Switch 2.
Release Details & Platforms
At Gamescom on August 21, 2025, Team Cherry revealed a release trailer that confirmed the launch date of Hollow Knight Silksong as September 4, 2025. According to SteamDB, the release time is set for 14:00 UTC.
The game will initially launch digitally only. Hollow Knight Silksong will be available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch & Switch 2. It will also release on GOG and Humble. Physical editions will not be available at launch but are planned to roll out in early 2026, starting with Nintendo platforms Switch and Switch 2.
Silksong Scope & Gameplay Innovations
In Hollow Knight Silksong, you play as Hornet. Hornet’s movement is more acrobatic than the Knight’s, with faster healing and a more offensive moveset. The core remains Metroidvania with demanding boss fights, but with increased speed and greater vertical mobility. The new world, Pharloom, is much larger, featuring over 200 new enemies, 40 bosses, and around 100 benches (checkpoints to save progress). For comparison, Hollow Knight originally launched with about 140 enemies, 30 bosses, and 51 benches.
The game introduces a new quest log with categories like Gather, Wayfarer, Hunt, Grand Hunt, craftable tools, and two additional currencies: Rosaries (lost upon death unless on “String”) and Shell Shards (used for repairing/crafting tools). There are also Crests as special equipment items. Once again, the game is hand-drawn and presented in 2D with highly contrasting biomes. From gilded cities to misty marshes, everything is included.
Hollow Knight Community Hype & Cultural Impact
Hollow Knight Silksong already has over 5 million wishlist entries on Steam, putting it at number one. This has sparked the so-called Silksong Effect, which we’ll dive into now. After the release date was revealed on August 21, a massive surge of players returned to the original game. In 2022, the record number of concurrent players was 20,324. But in recent days, that record has been shattered. The newest milestone was set on Saturday, August 30, 2025, when 66,171 players were playing simultaneously at midday – three times more players than the 2022 record.
At Gamescom, there was already a playable demo. And even there, we saw the first speedrun attempts. Speedrunner BlueSR set two best times for the demo: 2:26 Any% (Deep Docks) and 10:36 for both demo areas 100%. These runs immediately triggered community analyses and routing ideas.
The developers also confirmed in interviews that more content will come post-launch through DLC. This will unfold over months and years, echoing the successful support history of the first game, which received four free content packs.
Hollow Knight Silksong in the Context of 2025
I already mentioned the Silksong Effect, but there’s one more detail. Since the release date for Hollow Knight Silksong was announced, numerous indie studios have cleared the September window. They do this to avoid competing against Silksong, knowing they would likely stand no chance. This includes indie titles like Clover Pit, Megabonk, Little Witch in the Woods, Demonschool, and many more.
Even the popular game Peak added a note saying, “Enjoy Peak for the next two weeks until you all move on to Silksong.” But there are exceptions. For example, Hirogami (PC/PS5) is communicating openly and sticking to its date – just one day before, on September 3.
Future Outlook & Part of the Overall Story
Team Cherry has already shared their plans after release. We’ll be getting DLCs and continuous updates after launch. The developers are already working on the first DLC and have clear concepts in mind. The demo has also marked the beginning of Hollow Knight Silksong speedruns, which will only grow in number once the game is released.
The world of the Hollow Knight franchise is also expanding. Hornet, already familiar from the first game, will now be a playable character. The new kingdom of Pharloom also integrates into the lore. The game will feature a larger, quest-driven structure with multiple hubs and crafting. Players will learn more about side characters, the world’s backstory, and different factions throughout their journey.
Conclusion – The Crowning of the Hollow Knight Universe
From game jam prototype to cult phenomenon, Hollow Knight stands as one of the greatest indie success stories of all time. This is reflected not only in sales numbers, but also in its style, atmosphere, and the passion of its community. With Silksong, Team Cherry is now fulfilling the promise that has lingered for years in trailers, demos, and fan theories. A standalone adventure that merges Hornet’s acrobatic gameplay with an even larger game world.
The September 4 release doesn’t feel like a closing act, but the start of a new era. This is thanks to the creative freedom without deadline pressure, a clear design – faster, more vertical, quest-driven – and a community brimming with hype. Whether you’ve spent hours in Hollow Knight or are starting fresh with Silksong, this sequel delivers more of everything and marks the next chapter in the universe. So soon it’ll be time again to sit on the bench, sharpen your needle, and dive in.
Hey, I’m Kilian, but online you’ll probably know me as “Tux1243.” I've been part of the team for almost two years now, always trying to keep you in the loop with the latest and coolest gaming news. I also have a huge passion for doing deep dives and detailed analyses of entire game series and franchises. I love getting to the bottom of things and exploring the little details and backstories that make game worlds so fascinating.
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Didn't expect such hype for this second chapter of Hollow Knight but, finally, it deseved
I love Hollow Night!! its packed of curiosities and adventure and I already played the first game! so good! rosixor on discord
I'm only a couple of hours into HN Silksong and I just love it. It's such a beautiful game
Even though I am not fan of the games or even metroidvania, I am really impressed by popularity of new Silksong. One of the reasons is probably price. Game is really cheap. I wish the game well. I hope more indie games will achieve success.
Hollow Knight Silksong might be the GOTY for this year, the game's really good and you can say it's a much improved version of the original in gameplay, art, and music.. (pirax6154)