Silksong's Arrived (Almost!) and Team Cherry's Already Plotting More Magical Mischief – Are We Ready for Round Two?
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
After years of anticipation, Team Cherry reveals *Hollow Knight: Silksong*'s lengthy development was due to creative expansion rather than setbacks, funded by the original game's success. Now, despite the long wait for *Silksong* itself, the developers are already plotting "ambitious" post-release content, raising eyebrows and hopes for what's next (and how long we'll wait for it).
Right, so, you know that feeling when you've been waiting for a spell to finish brewing, practically gnawing your wand in impatience, and then it *finally* sparkles into existence? That’s pretty much the vibe around *Hollow Knight: Silksong* right now. For years, the internet has been a veritable desert, punctuated only by the occasional mirage of a Silksong announcement that never quite materialised. Honestly, it became less a game release and more a global experiment in collective yearning, spawning more memes than I have potions in my satchel.
Well, buckle up, mates, because Team Cherry, the digital wizards behind the original *Hollow Knight*, have finally broken their silence, giving us a peek behind the curtain. And what a peek it is! According to a report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, these Aussie maestros have been surprisingly frank about the whole ordeal, revealing there wasn't some grand, dramatic reason for the endless wait. No inter-dimensional rifts, no rogue AI, just... good, old-fashioned, enthusiastic game development taken to its logical extreme.
Remember when *Silksong* was just meant to be a bit of DLC for the first game? Ah, simpler times. That's where the magic – or perhaps the gentle chaos – truly began. Midway through, the scope just ballooned. It was like casting a minor charm and accidentally summoning a dragon. Suddenly, what was a supplementary adventure for Hornet became its own colossal, stand-alone quest. And fair dinkum, once you’re building something that epic, you can’t just stop, can you?
Team Cherry co-founder Ari Gibson perfectly encapsulated this delightful dilemma: "I remember at some point I just had to stop sketching," he said, explaining how every cool idea inevitably got added. "You realize, 'If I don’t stop drawing, this is going to take 15 years to finish.'" Mate, I've had similar moments trying to decide what to have for dinner, let alone build an entire Metroidvania world. It sounds like they were having a bloody good time making it, possibly *too* good of a time, before someone wisely drew a line in the digital sand.
Now, a big part of why they could indulge in this creative freefall was, ironically, the monumental success of the first *Hollow Knight*. Selling 15 million copies gives you a bit of breathing room, doesn't it? Unlike the original, where they were practically racing against the clock and dwindling funds, *Silksong* had the luxury of time and a full war chest. The longer fans waited, the more the buzz grew, prompting more curious gamers to dive into the original, which in turn funded even *more* development time for the sequel. It’s a beautifully recursive marketing loop, really. Big-budget studios spend millions trying to generate a fraction of the organic hype *Silksong* managed by, well, just existing in a state of perpetual anticipation.
So, with the game now seemingly on the verge of release (fingers crossed, touch wood, knock on every available surface), the big question looms: can *Silksong* possibly live up to the Everest-sized expectations piled upon it? Everything we’ve heard suggests it’s far more ambitious than its predecessor – multiple towns, complex questlines, a world that sounds absolutely massive. It's got to be, right? After a dev cycle that long, anything less would feel like a bit of a let-down.
But here’s the kicker, the bit that sent my curious brain into overdrive: Team Cherry is already talking about post-release content. Yes, you read that correctly. Before the main event has even properly launched, they're already discussing "ambitious" plans for what comes *after*. It’s like they just finished building a skyscraper that took a decade, and before the ribbon's even cut, they're sketching out plans for a lunar colony on the roof. I mean, fair play for having vision, but given *Silksong*'s journey from DLC to full game, and the sheer scope creep that defined its development, doesn't this sound just a *tad* familiar?
Are we looking at another multi-year wait for *Silksong*'s first expansion? Or perhaps, dare I suggest it, the nascent whispers of *Hollow Knight 3* already taking root in the fertile, idea-rich minds of Team Cherry? The optimistic part of me is buzzing with the thought of even more content in this incredible world. The gently skeptical part of me is already clearing my calendar for 2035, just in case. Either way, it seems our journey into Pharloom is just the beginning of another thrilling, probably very long, adventure.
Tags: HollowKnight, Silksong, TeamCherry, IndieGames, GameDevelopment
Original article: Polygon