The gaming community was taken by complete surprise with the revelation that Hollow Knight: Silksong is slated for release on September 4th. Now, in the days leading up to Silksong’s launch, the original Hollow Knight is experiencing a significant surge in popularity. The game has been consistently breaking its own concurrent player records on Steam, achieving a new high of 56,192 players on August 29th, according to data from SteamDB.
Previously, Hollow Knight’s record for the most concurrent players was set in May 2022, with over 20,000 players. However, since the announcement of Silksong’s imminent release, that peak number has been steadily increasing each day. For example, it reached 21,000 players on August 22nd, just a day following the announcement, and culminating in the 56,192 peak seen today. This is a remarkable achievement for an indie title that has been available for seven years.
It’s worth pointing out that SteamDB’s figures aren’t definitive for the entire gaming landscape. While Steam is a dominant platform, Hollow Knight is also accessible on all current and previous-generation consoles, including the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. The Switch is a very popular choice for playing the game. Nevertheless, this Steam surge clearly suggests that the allure of Hollow Knight continues to grow, captivating a wider audience.
Last week, we were fortunate enough to get an early look at Silksong, and the signs are very promising. GameSpot’s Steve Watts, after hands-on time with Silksong at Gamescom, stated, “Hollow Knight: Silksong seems to be precisely what one would expect: a compelling, impeccably designed, and aesthetically pleasing game that builds upon the original’s aesthetics and design principles with well-considered updates, even if not particularly revolutionary.”