Silksong’s Overwhelming Launch

Few indie games have reached the same mythical status as Hollow Knight: Silksong. After years of speculation and silence, Team Cherry finally released the sequel in a simultaneous, worldwide drop across PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Steam.

The result was an unprecedented surge in traffic that briefly overwhelmed multiple storefronts, preventing many players from purchasing or downloading the game at launch.

Team Cherry did not offer preloads, early access windows or exclusive review codes. That choice concentrated global demand into a single moment, with millions converging on platform stores at the exact same time. For a title that began life as planned DLC, the scale of day-one interest was remarkable and quickly exposed capacity limits on several platforms.

Store Outages Across Platforms

Reports from players indicated widespread problems. Steam and the Xbox Store intermittently failed to load listings or complete checkouts. On PlayStation, some users initially saw Hollow Knight: Silksong stuck behind a Wishlist prompt with no purchase option.

The Nintendo eShop also timed out for many, particularly in the first hour after release. While the issues were temporary, the volume and simultaneity of failures underlined just how intense launch-day demand was for Hollow Knight: Silksong.

What This Means for Indie Launches

Official traffic numbers have not been published, and Team Cherry has not issued a detailed post-mortem. Even so, the event already reads as a landmark for indie releases, demonstrating that a carefully protected launch, paired with years of pent-up anticipation, can generate pressure usually associated with blockbuster AAA titles.

With the rollout stabilised, players are finally stepping into Hornet’s journey as Hollow Knight’s next chapter begins.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is now available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 1 and 2.