Team Cherry’sHollow Knight: Silksongbegan life as an expansion for the popular 2017 release, which promised to feature a second playable character in its original Kickstarter campaign. AfterSilksongwas revealed to be its own adventure in 2019, the first major gameplay showcase debuted during the Nintendo Treehouse livestream that E3, leaving fans to assume Nintendo Directs would house more announcements going forward. That’s whyHollow Knight: Silksongappearing in 2022’s Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcasewas a real surprise.
The minute-long trailer didn’t offer fans much information to glean without going frame-by-frame to pick out each ofHornet’s new abilities compared toHollow Knight’s protagonist. However, it did confirmSilksongwill be a day-one release via Xbox Game Pass - despite there being no real indication of when the game will launch. Even without that release date set, the fact that Team Cherry is jumping onto Microsoft’s subscription platform so much earlier this time bodes well for theHollow Knightseries' success.
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Hollow Knight’s Gradual Roll-Out
Hollow Knightinitially released for PC in February 2017, and it was planned to launch on Wii U soon after. However, once the Nintendo Switch hybrid console became a known quantity, work shifted to getHollow Knighton that platform instead. It wouldn’t become available until June 30, 2025, with a shadow-drop announced during Nintendo’s E3 presentation. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One skews became available with the release ofHollow Knight: Voidheart Editionin September 2018; coinciding a major update with fixes for the game’s fourth and final “Godmaster” content pack.
However,Silksongis no longer in the same boat. While it is being developed by the same small team, all eyes are on the sequel to see if it can live up to its predecessor’s success. Anticipation is at a fever-pitch overfive years afterHollow Knight’s debut, so it makes sense for Team Cherry to make sure as many people can try the game at launch as possible.
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Xbox Game Pass Could Balloon Silksong’s Success
While the first game is a huge success story along the same lines ascontemporaries like Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone’sStardew Valley,Silksongcould be even bigger. Not only will there be a devoted fanbase built up over the last five years, newcomers who have heard aboutHollow Knightthrough questions thrown around every Nintendo Directs may also be interested. After the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, now those people know they can findSilksongas part of their Game Pass subscriptions day one, affording it as much attention as first-party releases likeHalo InfiniteorStarfield.
While Nintendo Switch Online and PlayStation Plus are subscription services that pride themselves on libraries of older works, Xbox Game Pass is more notable for its revolving door of modern AAA releases and popular indies - with priority access afforded to both console and PC players. There have been numerous stories about games finding a new audience on Game Pass, one recent case beingEidos Montreal’s “underperforming” but acclaimedGuardians of the Galaxy.
Hollow Knight: Silksongis still shrouded in mystery, but Team Cherry’s decision to push it as a day-one Xbox Game Pass release shows the developer wants as many people as possible to see Hornet’s adventure as soon as possible. WithHollow Knight: Voidheart Editionalready available through the subscription service, now is a great time for anyone on the fence to catch up. However, time will tell whether PlayStation fans also get access at launch.
Hollow Knight: Silksongis in development for PC, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
