After the historical launch and the record breaking sales of Hollow Knight: Silksong, developer Team Cherry has outlined its intended future for the acclaimed metroidvania franchise, stating that a third major title is possible, but it will not exactly work as a straightforward sequel. That is the potential ambiguity of such a title, as Co-directors Ari Gibson and William Pellen spoke about the runaway success of Silksong, claiming the studio feels satisfied the game has achieved a goal within “best version” of their initial concept, but left it rather nebulous about whether they would be doing another entry.
Gibson elaborated on this by saying, “If there were ever others, we are hoping all will follow the same pattern- that the series is all games that just exist together.” This reinforces their conviction that Silksong has taken the right path in production; originally, it was a downloadable extension for the first Hollow Knight. Ultimately, the project evolved into something more independent from the former link and less connected to it; a template that the studio seems convinced to hold for subsequent games into this beloved universe.
Back this with immense financial stability. The long-awaited release of Hollow Knight: Silksong on September 4th crashed major storefronts and is expected to surpass 5 million players within a week. This deep and immediate success is reminiscent of the reactions elicited by the original title. It was about giving the three-person, Adelaide-based studio wonderful creative freedom: on the basis of a seven-year development cycle for Silksong, Team Cherry now holds a similar timeframe should they wish to be developing a third main game.
For fans eagerly waiting for new content, it would therefore seem that the studio has closest priorities with immediately. Previously, extensive support released post-launch for the original Hollow Knight has already committed Team Cherry to producing downloadable content for Silksong. Given this pedigree, one could confidently assume that the announced DLC may very well occupy the studio’s time and efforts for many years to come. While the door has not completely been shut on Hollow Knight’s possible third self-contained experience, it could still be some years before any official announcement.
