'Hollow Knight' Fans Still Clash Over Whether 'Silksong' Is a Sequel or Prequel

Announced in 2019 by Team Cherry in an archived report and released years later in 2025, Hollow Knight: Silksong had one of the longest waits in indie game history. The hype and chatter around it, however, held steady — and only picked up steam once players finally got their hands on it. One question still circles the community: is Silksong a sequel or a prequel to the first game in the franchise?

For many, this is more than a lore debate. It’s about understanding the timeline, knowing whether Hollow Knight needs to be played first, and figuring out where Hornet’s journey fits into the broader world. While the developer has already given a crystal-clear answer to this question, the fanbase is not totally convinced.

From the start, Team Cherry has been straightforward. In Silksong’s original reveal, they described it as the studio’s second game and the “full-scale sequel to Hollow Knight.” It was originally planned as DLC focused on Hornet, but the idea quickly grew into something bigger — too big to stay confined to an expansion.

“Hollow Knight: Silksong is the epic sequel to Hollow Knight,” Team Cherry wrote in the announcement post. “As the lethal hunter Hornet, journey to all-new lands, discover new powers, battle vast hordes of bugs and beasts and uncover ancient secrets tied to your nature and your past.”

Insider Gaming also reinforced the point in their breakdown of the timeline, noting that the game’s development clearly positioned it as a narrative follow-up — even if the original plan was something much smaller.

Despite what’s on the record, the fandom isn’t entirely sold. Part of that comes down to how Hollow Knight itself handled story and endings. The game never establishes one “true” canon ending — instead offering several possible outcomes. And some of those create plot holes if Silksong really is set afterward.

In one of the endings, Hornet is trapped in the Black Egg Temple with no clear way out. If that’s canon, how is she alive and starring in a new game? Fans have debated this endlessly, especially in threads like this lengthy Reddit post where theories range from secret timelines to alternate universes.

Some players argue that Team Cherry must have quietly selected one ending as canon — possibly the Godmaster cliffhanger that heavily features Hornet. Others say the “sequel” label only applies in a production sense. As one Redditor put it: “It’s the second game in the series, so it’s a sequel by default — regardless of canon.”

There’s also the feeling that Silksong could be a standalone story or side chapter. The setting is new, most of the characters are new, and Hornet’s powers seem beyond what she had in the original game. One fan noted: “It would make more sense if Hornet dealt with Pharloom after Hallownest, not before. She’s stronger, faster, and more confident here—it feels like growth, not a prelude.”

At the same time, another player pointed out that Hornet doesn’t use these new abilities when she fights The Knight in Hollow Knight — which could imply Silksong is set earlier. It all depends on how you view the timeline. And since Team Cherry hasn’t clarified it in the game itself, fans are left to fill in the blanks.

Officially, it’s a sequel. Team Cherry said it directly, and most sources — from early blog posts to major gaming outlets — have echoed that.

Still, the nature of Hollow Knight’s open-ended storytelling makes it hard for some players to reconcile the sequel label with what happens in the first game. That tension has created a space for healthy (and sometimes obsessive) speculation — exactly the kind of thing that makes the Hollow Knight community what it is.

Whether you play for the lore, the gameplay, or the vibes, one thing is clear: Hornet’s story has taken on a life of its own. Wherever it fits in the timeline, Silksong gives us one more chance to get lost in a world of bugs, beauty, and mystery.