Hollow Knight: Silksong Shatters Expectations with 1600+ Days in Development
Hollow Knight: Silksong breaks records, surpassing 1600 days in development, fueling speculation about its progress due to a lack of substantial updates
Developers face challenges with long development cycles and frequent delays, especially when there is a significant gap between a game's announcement and its actual release. Hollow Knight: Silksong, the highly anticipated indie game and sequel to the award-winning Hollow Knight, was first announced in 2019. Since then, the three-man team at Team Cherry has been diligently working on its development, providing occasional updates. Surpassing expectations, the game recently reached a significant milestone – it has been over 1600 days (specifically 1610) since the reveal of Hollow Knight: Silksong.
While long development cycles are more common in the AAA space due to the extensive scale and budget of such titles, indie games can also face prolonged development periods, especially for smaller studios. Team Cherry, being a small team themselves, understands this challenge. Many extraordinary indie releases are even the result of a single developer. However, with the eager anticipation from fans for Hollow Knight: Silksong and the lack of specific updates on its development, the extended announcement-to-release timeframe raises concerns.
The 1600-Day Mark Puts Hollow Knight: Silksong In a League of Its Own
Team Cherry successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2014 to fund the development of the original Hollow Knight. The campaign reached its funding goal in less than a month, and the game was completed and released in just under three years. During this time, the developer provided regular updates on the game's progress.
Silksong, the sequel to Hollow Knight, was first revealed in 2019, but its development had already begun the previous year. As development continued, Silksong grew in size and scale, evolving from a DLC expansion to a full-fledged sequel. While development timelines can vary for solo developers, the time between Silksong's announcement and ongoing development has now exceeded four years, making it one of the longest development cycles for an indie game.
When Fans Might Expect to See Hollow Knight: Silksong Release
With a development period of 1600 days, Hollow Knight: Silksong may not have one of the longest development cycles in the gaming industry, but it does leave fans wondering when the game will be released. The prolonged development and lack of updates have caused some fans to believe that the game will be stuck in development hell. However, there is a positive aspect to the game's extended development: it has the potential to meet the high expectations set by fans.
During the Xbox Games Showcase in 2022, an extended gameplay trailer was released for Hollow Knight: Silksong. However, the game was notably absent from the expected summer developer showcases of 2023 and the Xbox Games Showcase of the same year. This, along with a confirmed delay earlier in the year, suggests that the game may be released in late 2023 or early 2024. Developers often strategically delay game releases to avoid competition with other highly anticipated titles, and 2023 has seen a number of major game releases. Hopefully, Silksong's recent progress is an indication that it is simply waiting for the right moment to shine without any distractions.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is in development for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
