When Hollow Knight Silksong FINALLY got its release date last week, many indie gaming fans around the world let out a sigh of relief. Like, literally. They’ve been waiting for this game for about seven years, and Team Cherry truly made them wait for it. However, it’s almost here. In fact, it’s less than 10 days away from release! One of the ways you can tell that its release is impending is because of the “ripple effects” that can be seen throughout this part of the gaming industry. What do we mean by that?
First, let’s look at the original game, which has seen a serious spike in players on Steam, setting a personal record in the process:
More people are playing Hollow Knight now on Steam compared to any point over the last 8 years.
— Stealth40k (@stealth40k.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T14:27:44.796Z
And that makes sense that people are jumping on the first game before the sequel comes out, especially when you consider all the hype that’s around Team Cherry’s new entry. If this lives up to the hype, it’ll be not only an instant hit, but a consistent seller for a long time, not unlike the first game.
The other way you can tell that Hollow Knight Silksong is almost here is that other indie games are moving their release dates to not be anywhere near it:
Many indie developers are delaying their games to get out of Hollow Knight Silksong's way. They had marketing plans which now have to be changed because of something they couldn't anticipate.I think it's the right call.
— Stealth40k (@stealth40k.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T13:32:04.095Z
And you all thought that something like GTA 6 could be the only cause of such “moves.” But no, this game’s sudden release date drop is causing other indie devs to be skiddish, and we don’t blame them. In the indie market, you need to do your releases properly and with as little competition as possible. This game dropping right around your release date? Yeah, that’ll impact your sales for sure.
With September 4th fast approaching, it’ll be interesting to see what other “ripples” this game causes before launch.
