If you’ve spent any substantial sum of time on Reddit or social media gaming circles over the last few years, you’ve almost certainly seen the ire over Hollow Knight: Silksong. First announced back in 2019, Team Cherry’s follow-up to their breakout 2017 Metroidvania Hollow Knight has been dangled over players’ heads without a definitive release date for six years. The desperate exasperation of fans has become a meme of its own, with every awards show, expo, and digital direct raising people’s hopes only to end in disappointment.
But now, the agony is over. During this week’s Gamescom 2025, Team Cherry finally confirmed when players can return to the lush world of Hollow Nest: Sept. 4, 2025.
Releasing on pretty much all consoles as well as PC, Hollow Knight: Silksong is a direct sequel to the original 2D action game, which is considered one of the best video games ever made, full stop. It exploded in popularity following its 2018 launch on Nintendo Switch, introducing many younger players to the world of indies.
Silksong puts players in the role of Hornet, the former princess of the Hollownest, who previously served as a supporting character in the first game. The mysterious figure appeared around the in-game world to occasionally toy with the original protagonist, the titular Knight, and ultimately served as a mentor on the journey. Like its predecessor, Silksong is a 2D action and exploration game that’s heavily dependent on blind discovery, obtaining new items and skills, and backtracking back through previous areas. Its gloomy underworld is very much a vibe, brought to life through lush illustrations that imbue each of the insect-like denizens with cutesy personality without ever feeling overtly twee.
It’s unclear what new abilities or mechanical updates the game has in store to differentiate itself from the previous entry, but frankly it could be a near-identical game, and fans would still be over the moon. What is known is that the game takes place in a new region called Pharloom, which is said to be much larger than the map of the first one.
Developed by Team Cherry, an extremely small Australian studio that’s comprised of just three core team members. Given Hollow Knight’s highly detailed art design and sprawling, intricate explorable world, it makes sense that the game would have a long road through development, but the seemingly never-ending wait has given Silksong a somewhat mythical reputation — complete with sky high expectations.
Fans can find out whether or not Silksong was worth the wait when it arrives on Sept. 4 for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Linux, macOS, and Windows.
