The June 2022 Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase had a very particular selling point, with every title on display "targeted to launch in the next 12 months." Naturally plans change, and Bethesda's Starfield got delayed out of that showcase window when it was announced to be releasing on September 6, 2023. One surprise appearance at that event was Team Cherry's Hollow Knight: Silksong, but in hindsight this may have put Silksong in a tricky situation.

First announced in February 2019, the Hollow Knight expansion-turned-sequel has largely stayed out of the public eye. Footage debuted at E3 2019's Nintendo Treehouse livestream, but fans had little else to go on until Microsoft's June 2022 event. Though an Xbox Wire graphic depicting the 2022 and 2023 release plans after that showcase did not include Hollow Knight: Silksong, it felt safe to assume news on its development would come more frequently. But with no major reveals since, there seem to be increasingly less "viable" release windows for Team Cherry to comfortably hit.

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Releasing Too Soon Could Compromise Hollow Knight: Silksong's Quality

Hollow Knight: Silksong Starfield Delay

One likely reason for Hollow Knight: Silksong's silent development is obvious: the COVID-19 pandemic. Just three individuals from South Australia were responsible for 2017's hit indie metroidvania, and Team Cherry has not ballooned in size to work on Silksong. This upcoming sequel also appears to be revamping a lot of the original experience to fit the unique skills of its new protagonist, Hornet, so it makes sense for Team Cherry to take its time if it wants to recapture Hollow Knight's lightning in a bottle.

With the original game being so popular, one imagines a lengthy marketing cycle would precede Silksong's release. It feels unlikely anything will happen soon given the lack of updates since June 2022. However, Microsoft's ecosystem became harder to judge after Tango Gameworks shadow-dropped Hi-Fi Rush during the Xbox & Bethesda Developer_Direct in January. Hollow Knight Silksong could do something similar (despite being multi-platform), but it's hard to say whether this kind of release would be a beneficial surprise for fans after long bouts of silence. Team Cherry shouldn't rush itself to capitalize on a new, potentially lucrative trend.

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Releasing Too Late Could Bump Hollow Knight: Silksong Against Other Blockbusters

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Releasing too late in the year could be just as problematic for Hollow Knight: Silksong as getting out early, especially if Team Cherry is banking on its day-one release through Xbox Game Pass as a major marketing strategy (given its presence at the 2022 showcase, that seems to be the case). Fans will undoubtedly flock to Silksong whenever it releases, as the first game's strong word-of-mouth fostered a dedicated following. But if the game launches during the latter half of the year, it could risk competition with major AAA titles such as Starfield.

If casual Game Pass subscribers are given a choice, it's more likely they'll gravitate toward the spacefaring successor to Bethesda's ever-popular Skyrim than they would a soulslike indie game about bugs that may have direct narrative ties to its predecessor. Even moving beyond Xbox's ecosystem, plenty of major titles are set to launch from June 2023 to the end of the year: Street Fighter 6 in June, Pikmin 4 in July, and other anticipated indies like Sea of Stars in August.

The modern gaming landscape is so stuffed with both AAA blockbusters and indies alike that there will never be a "perfect" time to release almost anything without competition. But the longer Team Cherry takes, the more Hollow Knight: Silksong starts to resemble games like Grand Theft Auto 6; announced so early that anticipation and rumors ultimately dull some peoples' excitement. Hopefully some information comes out soon that suggests the game isn't floundering in development hell, because fans undoubtedly want Hornet to get plenty of time in the spotlight.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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