Summary

• Nintendo has a free trial for Hollow Knight going on currently, hinting at a potential announcement for Silksong.
• There is a possibility that Silksong could be part of Summer Game Fest or the Nintendo Direct.
• The game's numerous delays and lack of announcements have many fans worried about what's going on with Team Cherry.

Since its initial announcement, people have been eagerly awaiting more news about rumors about a potential release date be dashed when nothing occurs. However, Nintendo has dropped a piece of news that, when mixed with the gaming events that are about to happen, could finally turn things around.

The original Hollow Knight game came out in 2017, and it was instantly dubbed a classic and even a masterpiece by some critics. The game took the Metroidvania genre and wrapped it around a new and fascinating bug-themed world that had numerous layers and nuances to make the game stand out from others like it. Its success was so immediate that, after releasing several DLCs for the game, Silksong was announced in February 2019, first as a DLC package and then as a true sequel to the hit title. Since then, developer Team Cherry has been mostly silent about it.

A Silksong Announcement May Be Coming In June

A Free Trial For Hollow Knight Points The Way

However, things could be changing. The X (formerly Twitter) handle for Nintendo of Europe revealed that a special Nintendo Switch Online trial for the original Hollow Knight is currently going on and will last until June 12. The key thing to note is that while this trial is timed on the date, it's not timed on the gameplay aspect. As such, people who get this trial could beat the entire game before the trial ends – not including the DLC.

As multiple people on the X post stated, this could be a sign that Hollow Knight: Silksong is about to get an announcement. First and foremost, Summer Game Fest's opening livestream is Friday, June 7, and that means that the game could be one of the many reveals for Geoff Keighley's event. Keighley himself has been rather low-key about what the event will have, even saying that the games at the show will drop in 2023 for the most part. That could mean that if Silksong is there, it'll be released soon. It's not a guarantee, though.

The other thing to consider is that even if the game isn't at the Summer Game Fest, it could make a showing at the impending Nintendo Direct (or, alternatively, the Xbox Showcase on June 9), which is already confirmed to be happening in June. As noted by Metacritic, the original Hollow Knight was rated the highest on Switch, and so that could be the reason that Team Cherry will want to drop an announcement for the platform that has arguably been the most kind to the series so far. Plus, given the state of the Nintendo Switch's 2024, it would be a standout reveal.

The Development Cycle of Silksong

How An Announcement From 2019 Slowly Extended Into 2024

The true mystery of Hollow Knight: Silksong is that, despite it being announced all the way back in 2019, the game still isn't here, and it's unclear as to why it's taking so long. As noted, it originally was supposed to be a piece of DLC for the original game, but then shifted to being a fully-fledged title after Team Cherry saw something special within it. The studio has been working on it ever since, but updates, trailers, and clues as to its release have been minuscule at best, which has frustrated those who are eagerly waiting for the Metroidvania-style title.

There was a three-year gap between updates until Team Cherry returned in 2022 to announce that the game was still being worked on. To make matters more confusing, despite saying they were still in development, Team Cherry didn't show new content for some time, only promising to make announcements as things got closer to launch. Then, in June 2022, during an Xbox Showcase, a trailer for the game dropped, along with news of it being on Xbox Game at launch and that the release date would be within the next year. However, that didn't work out.

About a month before the self-imposed deadline, May 2023, Team Cherry officially delayed the game, bringing more frustration and confusion to those excited about getting their hands on the new title. A meaningful update hasn't been provided since. That's why there is speculation that this Nintendo Switch Online free trial could point to a big reveal within the next week or so. The trial could be seen as a marketing tool to get people to try the original game, buy it if they can't finish in time, and then be ready for the sequel.

The Mystery Behind Silksong

Questions About Delays, Game Size, & More

The big question is: why the delays? The easiest answer is that Team Cherry is trying to make Silksong as great as possible to not just live up to the team's own potential, but to live up to the legacy of the original game. Another answer is that the crew is trying to make the game as big as possible, which would take plenty of time to work out the bugs before release. That could be a risk, though, and it might even be a double-edged sword upon release, should it not pan out.

Silksong will feature a new protagonist with different moves and abilities than the original game.

It should be said clearly that this is just speculation. It's entirely possible that there won't be an update for Silksong during the month of June, and thus, the wait for it will continue. However, this free trial, as simple as it may be, is something to hold out hope for. The timing of it is suspicious at best and convenient at worst. The hype for Hollow Knight: Silksong is already at record highs, so dropping an announcement during the biggest game period of the summer would be a wise way to get people anticipating its impending arrival.

Source: Nintendo of Europe/X, Metacritic