In case you somehow missed it, today is Hollow Knight: Silksong Eve Eve. Yes, it's a term that I've just made up, but I've been waiting for this one for the past seven years, so you'll have to forgive me for counting down the days as if I'm on the run up to Christmas.
Team Cherry's surprise announcement two weeks ago might have been too short notice to break out the advent calendar for the countdown to 4th September, but it was plenty long enough for me to start reminiscing over the last seven years of waiting. Because, when I really thought about it, it might be one of the most hilarious-looking development timelines that any studio has managed to muster.
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If, like me, you have been following this one for yonks, then Team Cherry's famed updates (or lack of them) will be old news, but with a mere two days to go, I thought it might be fun to take a stroll down memory lane and reminisce about the news beats in Silksong's development cycle that had us all donning our clown makeup and taking to the nearest Direct Live Chat to frantically type "SILKsONG WHEn??"
I've only taken the biggest developments for the following recap — let's forget about how we all lost our minds over every single license update on the Silksong Steam page — but it paints a pretty hilarious picture of how long the Silksong fever has had us on tenterhooks. We might have hung up our multicoloured wigs and put away our red noses, but gosh, we had some good times together, didn't we?
Let's start this quick recap with the most jam-packed year of them all...
2019
Hollow Knight: Silksong is officially revealed - 14th February
Team Cherry might have given us the best Valentine's Day of 'em all back in 2019 when it officially lifted the lid on Hollow Knight: Silksong.
The announcement tweet has since pulled in 41 thousand likes, while the reveal trailer has racked up 4.7 million views — hey, seven years of waiting will do that!
Team Cherry showcases new Silksong characters - 19th March
Just one month after the reveal, Team Cherry was back with another update, this time showcasing a handful of the colourful cast of characters we'll meet in the sequel.
We got official descriptions for Lace - "a dangerous foe, cloaked in mystery, who’ll delight at causing Hornet’s swift, skewered demise," Shakra - "a warrior seeking her master, who vanished under strange circumstances", Trobbio - "Master of the Stage, the Brush and the Voice", Sherma - "An optimistic pilgrim on a spiritual journey" and Garmond and Zaza - "A rambunctious older bug and his noble steed, on a quest to discover a new home".
Silksong appears at E3's Nintendo Treehouse: Live - 26th June
Gosh, remember when the updates came this thick and fast?
Hot off the back of a bunch of Silksong gameplay being shown off in a Nintendo Treehouse presentation at E3 2019, Team Cherry shared a blog post packed with bonus Silksong details, and our first look at the Greymoor area, which the team described as "one of the biggest" they've ever created.
2020
Another Silksong character is officially revealed... via Discord - 17th June
Team Cherry was all fun and games back in the day, and it kept the Silksong hype going throughout the dark days of 2020 by sharing riddles in the game's Discord channel.
This one riddle in particular gave us our first look at another NPC, Huntress - "a towering old predator, awaiting her children to come".
2021
Even more details pop up in EDGE Magazine's "World Exclusive" - 2nd January
After a pretty quiet 2020, Team Cherry spilled the beans on a bunch of Silksong details in a "world exclusive" with EDGE Magazine.
This included info on Hornet's questlines, Crests and 'Tricks', but it didn't include a release date. The wait continued.
2022
Team Cherry says Silksong's release "can’t be too much longer" - 11th May
Hollow Knight: Silksong picked up the Unity Award for Most Anticipated Game in 2022, and Team Cherry got us all excited when it announced that the game's release "can't be much longer, surely".
The worst part of all this? We believed it!
Xbox Games Showcase reveals Silksong will release in "the next 12 months" - 12th June
Well, this might be the biggest clown meme moment of them all.
Hollow Knight: Silksong made a surprise appearance in the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022, with Microsoft revealing that the title will be available as a day one Game Pass release, "in the next 12 months". So that puts it as launching at some point before mid-2023, right? Right?
2023
Team Cherry confirms Silksong isn't launching in the first half of 2023 - 10th May
And so we arrive at perhaps the funniest back-to-back developments in the entire timeline. As is turns out, that "next 12 months" release window from Microsoft might have been a little off, with Team Cherry's marketing and publishing rep, Matthew Griffin, taking to Twitter to reveal that "development is still continuing".
Hey, at least he let us know that we could expect more details "closer to release", so that's... helpful.
2024
*Cricket noises*
2025
Silksong "is real, progressing, and will release" - 12th Jan
As a surefire sign that we were collectively losing our minds at this point, Griffin returned to Twitter to reveal that, yes, Silksong is a real thing. What's more, he promised that it "will release". That's it.
A Direct appearance, accompanied by a 2025 release window - 2nd April
What was one of the biggest stories out of the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal Direct? Mario Kart World? Donkey Kong Bananza? Our first proper look at the console we had all been champing at the bit for?
No, it was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Silksong appearance in a sizzle reel accompanied by a 2025 release window. It would be coming to Switch 2 at some point this year. News!
Hollow Knight: Silksong "special announcement" finally reveals release date - 21st August
We did it! It finally happened! A two-minute gameplay trailer and a brief graphic of mist parting on a 4th September release date was enough to make me, and everyone else in the world, it seems, jump for joy.
I'll remind you again, it's just two days away!
Team Cherry gives one final update for Kickstarter backers - 2nd September
Okay, one last (?) update before we all get our hands on the damn thing.
Team Cherry provided a final Kickstarter update for all those who backed the game many moons ago, stating that Switch 2 players will have to download the free upgrade pack from the eShop at launch to "unlock the platform's enhanced features".
And that's just about it! After seven years of being drip-fed information, Silksong is very, very nearly here. Having looked through the announcements since 2019, my hype level is currently sitting at an all-time high — just look at how far we've come! — but what about you? You can let me know whether you share my excitement in the following poll.