Why Did 'Hollow Knight: Silksong' Take So Long to Release?! "It's Been 84 Years ...'

When you've been waiting for something long enough, sometimes it doesn't feel real when the moment arrives and it actually happens. This is exactly what gamers have experienced while waiting for the release of Hollow Knight: Silksong. The eagerly, nay desperately, anticipated game finally has a release date after years and years of waiting, delays, and uncertainty.

But why did Silksong take so long to release? The developers have spoken out about what exactly kept delaying the game, and we have an actual release date to celebrate. It's sooner than you'd think.

There was a time when Silksong was just supposed to be a DLC. Fans were enthusiastically in love with the original Hollow Knight, and the sidescroll adventure game was promised a little bit of extra flavor to extend the story.

And then the interminable wait began. Well, maybe not interminable. Since the wait is officially over now. But why, oh why, did it take so long?

The developers, Team Cherry, have explained why gamers were granted a six year wait instead of the quick DLC they were promised. As it turns out, it wasn't a matter of logistics, funding, or anything that would have endangered the game long term.

The developers just really care about the game they put out.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Team Cherry co-founder Ari Gibson explained, "We’ve been having fun. … This whole thing is just a vehicle for our creativity anyway. It’s nice to make fun things.”

In a way, it was Hollow Knight's success that led to the long delay.

The original Hollow Knight selling 15 million copies ensured that the indie developers had the funding to take their time. This guaranteed that they were putting out a quality game, once it became clear that Silksong needed to be more than a DLC. And it's finally here.

In a YouTube trailer, the developers dropped the long-awaited answer: The game arrives on Sept. 4, 2025, on every platform, which includes:

• Nintendo Switch
• Nintendo Switch 2
• PlayStation 4
• PlayStation 5
• Xbox One
• Xbox Series X|S
• PC via Steam, GOG, and Humble Store

To say fans are stoked is really an understatement. On a TikTok post announcing the game's release date, fans filled the comments with ecstatic responses. Most of them are just flabbergasted that the game they waited six years for got a release date just a few weeks away, out of the blue. One fan wrote, "'Yeah this game y'all been waiting for the last seven years? Yeah, it comes out in two weeks' LIKE BRO."

Another fan said in disbelief, "Was not expecting it to be THIS SOON." One user joked, "Slightly worried that they didn't put a year next to it."

But don't worry, it really is 2025.

There's nothing quite as satisfying as finally getting that game you've been waiting forever for. And with Hollow Knight, the wait is almost certainly worth it. With Silksong being six years' worth of effort and love, it's the standalone sequel players deserved.