Hollow Knight: Silksong was announced with a trailer all the way back in 2019 and very little has been revealed by Team Cherry since. After the slow-burning success of the original Hollow Knight in 2017, the title has become one of the most recognizable faces of the indie game scene. It also helped with a renaissance of the Metroidvania genre, spawning dozens of Hollow Knight clones that have tried to capture the essence of a proper sequel, but no one can quite do it the same way Team Cherry did in 2017.

Still, despite how brilliant the game ended up being, and how revolutionary it was for the Metroidvania genre, Hollow Knight didn't release as the game that Team Cherry originally intended it to be. Its development is both well-documented and a fascinating yet rocky story that began with a game jam project called Hungry Knight, which actually had the original design for the Knight in it. The development of the original Hollow Knight probably answers why its sequel is taking so long, but also gives hope that when it originally releases, it will be worth the long, painful wait.

The Original Hollow Knight Was Postponed Too

And Would Have Been Postponed Further If The Budget Allowed

Originally, Hollow Knight was meant to be a much shorter game at around 10 hours in length, and was meant to release in 2015 after a decently successful Kickstarter campaign, yet its official release took an extra two years. When it was released, Hollow Knight was much larger than a 10-hour game, being the largest Metroidvania made at the time, and displays how the vision continued to grow as the title was developed. Team Cherry never set out with the intention of making one of the biggest and best Metroidvania titles ever, yet that's what it ended up with.

Hollow Knight technically began in a game jam, Ludum Dare 2013, with the project Hungry Knight. Another game jam produced the incomplete project Beneath the Surface, which gave rise to the idea of an underground kingdom seen in Hollow Knight.

Despite its size, Team Cherry would have made the game even bigger if the budget allowed. The team ran out of money and was practically forced to release Hollow Knight in late February 2017, which was an unfortunate window considering that Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released in early March that same year. Massive cuts had to be made, most notoriously to the Bone Forest. Even areas that made it into the game, like Deepnest, were reduced in size and the game didn't quite release in the state that Team Cherry wanted at the time.

Although reasonably successful, Hollow Knight took off with the Switch port in June 2018, becoming one of the most successful indie titles on the platform, allowing Team Cherry to expand on its game with free DLC. The Bone Forest never made an appearance here, but the game was made even bigger than before with areas like Godhome and The Hive added. Team Cherry have stated that Silksong will be even bigger than this, which is quite a statement given that Hollow Knight is already one of the largest titles in its genre.

Silksong's Development Mirrors Hollow Knight's

But Team Cherry Doesn't Have Budget Restrictions This Time

Hollow Knight grew exponentially from its original, 10-hour campaign that was meant to release in 2015, and Silksong is doing something similar, growing massively from the expansion it was originally meant to be. From something the size of DLC to a game larger than its predecessor, Silksong's growth mirrors the development story of the original Hollow Knight, its scale expanding constantly. This time, its growth won't be stopped by budget and time restraints, considering how well the original did for the studio, but that does beg the question of when the growth will stop.

Hollow Knight Silksong was announced on February 14, 2019, although very little information has been given about the game after over five years of waiting.

Cut elements from the original game are back, with Team Cherry's Bone Forest finally able to make some kind of debut, but new elements are rife as well, with the musical aspects of Pharloom ever present. Although it will be bigger than Hollow Knight, if it continues to add new elements while bringing back cut ones (and there is a lot of content that didn't make the cutting room floor), Silksong could end up at least twice as big as its predecessor. It could end up being as long as Baldur's Gate 3 if Team Cherry don't stop adding things.

The size of the team, which was probably a problem with the original Hollow Knight, doesn't help Silksong's development either, since it only consists of three developers. Although one of the names has changed, Silksong still only has three game devs behind it, with Christopher Larkin continuing his role as the composer. With a game the scale of Silksong, it's no wonder that the game is taking so long to make, and it is odd that the team doesn't expand with at least one more person to help things along, considering how popular the IP is.

Why You Shouldn't Worry About Silksong's Long Development

The Issue Isn't The Ideas, But The Scale Of The Game

Silksong will eventually come out. This isn't an instance like with George R. R. Martin's Winds of Winter, where the creator is stuck on where to go. Team Cherry have a clear idea of what it wants Pharloom to be, and this can be seen in the release material thus far, since Hornet's gameplay looks practically done. If the development of the original Hollow Knight is anything to go by, Team Cherry will want to add as much as it can to the game, and without budget or time restrictions this time, there isn't much of a reason not to.

The problem will come with how big the game will end up being, since Team Cherry doesn't have a track record of knowing when to stop adding content. Budget and time restraints forced the developer's hand in 2017, and it missed Hollow Knight's original release date by 2 years without adding everything it wanted to the game. The hope is that Team Chery will know when to stop adding content this time and when enough will be enough so that Silksong can eventually be released.

Hollow Knight: Silksong had an initial release window of early 2023, although it was delayed because the scope of the project requires more time. This is the exact same reason why the original Hollow Knight was delayed from its 2015 window, and it still ended up being one of the best Metroidvania titles ever. If the development mirrors the original Hollow Knight, its sequel could be released this year, two years on from its original window, but whenever it comes out, it will be worth the wait, especially with the better resources Team Cherry has this time around.

Source: Nintendo of America/YouTube