Silksong Repeats Successful Release Strategy

The announcement of Hollow Knight: Silksong’s official release date this year has confirmed that developer Team Cherry is repeating history by sticking to a specific strategy that worked in the past. The highly anticipated metroidvania is finally being released in 2025, after seven years of waiting. The release of Hollow Knight: Silksong will occur on September 4 this year.

The game will put you in control of Hornet, who appears in the original game but is now the protagonist. The character offers brand-new gameplay abilities and will explore a unique region that wasn’t seen by the Knight. The gameplay footage revealed for Silksong confirms that the new game will retain the same style as its predecessor but offer a series of innovations, as well as exciting boss fights.

Silksong Followed Hollow Knight’s Original Release Strategy

The Game Is Arriving Two Weeks After The Release Date Announcement

With the game’s release date announcement, Team Cherry has confirmed that Silksong is repeating Hollow Knight’s release strategy, which we speculated could happen. On February 10, 2017, the developers revealed that the game would be released on February 24 that year. This short two-week period between the announcement and full release did wonders for the original game when it comes to fostering the community’s hype.

Now, it’s been confirmed that Silksong is treading a similar path. The game’s release date was announced on August 21, and its arrival is set for September 4, setting the two events exactly two weeks apart. Combined with Team Cherry’s silence around Silksong, this helps generate great expectations for the game, while keeping it close on players’ radars as they wait for it.

More Games Should Use Silksong’s Release Tactic

Short Periods Between Announcement & Release Generate Hype

This is a great release tactic that other developers should apply. Preemptive marketing campaigns and putting a game’s release on the radar are fundamental to making it succeed in terms of sales. This is exemplified by CD Projekt Red’s release of Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020, which, despite its many technical issues, still sold extremely well. However, surprise drops and short periods between announcements and releases also work well.

As was mentioned, it worked with the original Hollow Knight. At the time, the franchise wasn’t as popular as it is nowadays, but its near-immediate release generated curiosity, and it instantly became one of the best and most popular metroidvanias. Surprise drops like Hi-Fi Rush are also great – even if they weren’t previously announced, the arrival of a great game out of nowhere is intriguing and can fuel sales.

Silksong was already highly anticipated, as it’s been seven years in the making and, following the massive success of the original game, it didn’t need huge marketing efforts because every new bit of information was instantly shared. Even so, seeing it arrive so early on is great news for players who have been eagerly awaiting Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Systems

Released

September 4, 2025

Developer(s)

Team Cherry

Publisher(s)

Team Cherry

Engine

Unity

Franchise

Hollow Knight

Number of Players

Single-player

Steam Deck Compatibility

Verified