Tue. Sep 9th, 2025

Hollow Knight’s Journey: A Decade of Surprising Success

After a six-year wait following its announcement, marked by multiple delays and fervent anticipation, Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally set to launch on September 4th. As the release date approaches, an old Reddit thread about the original Hollow Knight has resurfaced, serving as a powerful reminder of the remarkable progress the franchise and its developer, Team Cherry, have made over the past decade.

The thread, posted by Reddit user crazy_loop ten years ago, featured a trailer for the first Hollow Knight game, which would eventually release in 2017, alongside a heartfelt personal message.

“Last year my best friend quit his full-time job to chase his dream and make a fully fledged video game,” the post stated. “Today he just released a trailer and it looks beyond amazing.”

While a new trailer for Hollow Knight: Silksong in 2025 would undoubtedly ignite the internet, the response back in 2015 was notably subdued, to say the least. Many prospective players appeared largely indifferent.

The most upvoted comment on the post suggested that the game was likely “a fine game, but the market is currently saturated with side-scrolling platformers so I feel his game may not do as good as he hopes.” Another user, while acknowledging the game looked fun, felt compelled to “rain on a parade” and argued that Hollow Knight seemed to lack the “innovation and individuality of something like Limbo,” concluding, “probably not going to be huge.” A further comment simply dismissed the game as “cliche.”

What an astonishing difference a decade can make. Fortunately, some voices within that Reddit thread did push back against the notion of a “saturated” market, recognizing the potential for Hollow Knight to be truly special. Several even expressed genuine interest in purchasing the game based on the trailer. However, the prevailing sentiment largely indicated that while Hollow Knight looked acceptable, it might struggle to find a significant audience. A few commenters speculated it might receive a modest sales boost from appearing on Reddit`s front page.

Fast forward to the present: Hollow Knight has now sold over 15 million copies, is achieving its all-time concurrent player peak on Steam, and its highly anticipated sequel is such a major event that numerous other games have deliberately postponed their own releases to avoid clashing with Silksong`s launch. Not a bad outcome for the follow-up to a humble indie title that, based on that early Reddit discussion, many initially expected to be just another entry in the crowded metroidvania genre.

Despite Hollow Knight`s monumental success and the intense fan excitement, Hollow Knight: Silksong will be priced at just $20, a mere $5 more than its predecessor. Silksong is set to debut on PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and Switch 2 (offering a free upgrade for Switch 2 owners), and will also be a day-one release on Game Pass.

By Bramwell Nightingale

A Toronto-based gaming journalist with over eight years of experience covering the North American gaming industry. Started his career writing for independent gaming blogs before establishing himself as a reliable source for breaking gaming news. Specializes in AAA game releases and studio acquisitions across Canada and the US. His investigative approach to gaming industry developments has earned him respect among developers and publishers alike

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