Hollow Knight: Silksong's release date has been pushed back

Hornet will have to wait a little while longer to explore Pharloom

The sequel to one of the best metroidvania games of all time, Hollow Knight, has been pushed back after previously aiming to release in the first half of this year. Hollow Knight: Silksong was set to be released on or before June 12, but a spokesperson for the game has said it needs a little more time in the oven.

Silksong has long been the white whale of metroidvania games, having been announced as a standalone title in early 2019. Details on the game’s release have been few and far between, with sporadic updates from time to time in the four years since the game’s announcement.

Our biggest sign of an imminent release came in June last year during an Xbox showcase, where Silksong was shown off as one of the games coming to Game Pass on day one in the next year. When asked specifically if this meant Silksong was coming out within a year – putting its release on or before June 12, 2023 – the Xbox Twitter account confirmed that every title featured, including the Hollow Knight sequel, would be releasing within the next year.

Now, though, we know that it will not be hitting that release date. In a tweet from Matthew Griffin, who works on marketing and publishing for the game, it’s been confirmed that while developer Team Cherry aimed for a launch in the first half of the year, it won’t be coming out anytime soon.

“Hey gang, just a quick update about Silksong,” Griffin said in the tweet, “We had planned to release in the 1st half of 2023, but development is still continuing. We’re excited by how the game is shaping up, and it’s gotten quite big, so we want to take the time to make the game as good as we can.”

Hey gang, just a quick update about Silksong.

We had planned to release in the 1st half of 2023, but development is still continuing. We're excited by how the game is shaping up, and it's gotten quite big, so we want to take the time to make the game as good as we can.

Expect…

— Matthew Griffin (@griffinmatta) May 10, 2023

Griffin also said that fans should expect more details once the game is closer to being released, but stopped short of saying when that release would be. Given the team was originally aiming for this year, it’s entirely possible we’ll still see it before 2024, but we’ve been burned before, and expectations for a release date should be kept as low as possible until we’ve heard more.

Silksong was originally announced as an expansion to the original Hollow Knight, back when that game was still just a hopeful Kickstarter. Since then, the game has been spun out into its own game, a full-fledged sequel to Hollow Knight.

Just personally, having played the game at PAX Aus 2019 (which, at the time, stand attendees told me the game was “almost done”), I can absolutely say it will be worth the wait. Hornet is incredibly fun to play as, with sharp, snappy gameplay that feels like a true evolution of everything Hollow Knight is.