Hollow Knight: Silksong Breaks Sales Records With Three-Person Development Team

Hollow Knight: Silksong sold 6 million copies in its first month. Team Cherry released the game on September 4, 2025, after six years of development. Three people built the entire game.

Ari Gibson, William Pellen, and Jack Vine operate from Adelaide, Australia. They released Hollow Knight in 2017 through a Kickstarter campaign. That game sold 15 million copies. Silksong sold 3 million copies in three days on Steam, generating $50 million in revenue. The game peaked at 587,000 concurrent players. OpenCritic rates it 98 out of 100.

Sales Performance

Silksong outsold its closest 2025 indie competitor by 3.5 times in the same launch period. It sold more copies than the second, third, and fourth best-selling indie games combined. The game passed Metroid Dread’s lifetime sales of 3.07 million copies within two weeks. Sales of the original Hollow Knight rose to 205,000 copies per week after Silksong launched.

Rockstar Games develops Grand Theft Auto 6 with over 1,000 employees and a budget exceeding $2 billion. That game launches in 2026. Silksong costs $19.99 with no DLC, microtransactions, battle pass, or seasonal content.

Bloomberg reported Team Cherry stopped adding content to avoid further delays. The studio plans free post-release updates, matching their approach with Hollow Knight.

Development Timeline

Team Cherry planned Silksong as DLC for Hollow Knight. The scope grew too large. They announced it as a standalone sequel in February 2019. Between 2019 and 2025, the studio provided minimal updates. The developers stated they focused on development rather than marketing.

Development’s final year centered on polish and detail work. The studio reported no crunch periods or layoffs during production.

Reddit’s r/Silksong community created fake news posts called “Silkposts” while waiting for updates. In July 2025, users banned four members as a joke “sacrifice” to trigger the game’s release.

Team Cherry announced the September 4 release at Gamescom 2025, giving two weeks’ notice. Bloomberg reported the studio refused to send advance review copies because they wanted Kickstarter backers to play first.

AAA games typically charge up to $70 at launch, then add in-game stores, premium currencies, cosmetic items, and timed events. Publishers generate billions through this model.

All of them are mechanics used by sweepstakes casinos to increase stickiness, with daily login rewards and rotating content designed to maintain engagement. Players often spend more than the base price through these systems.

Silksong charges $19.99 once and that’s it. The game contains over 200 enemies, more than 40 bosses, and a world larger than Hollow Knight. Players receive all content at purchase.

The game includes no difficulty settings, tutorials, or quest markers. NPR’s reviewer noted the combat demanded repeated attempts at boss fights.

Gibson previously ran animation studio Mechanical Apple. Pellen designs enemy and boss behavior. Vine codes the entire game. The team works with composer Christopher Larkin in Adelaide. The core development team consists of three people.

Hollow Knight received four free expansions: Grimm Troupe, Lifeblood, Hidden Dreams, and Godmaster. Team Cherry added all content at no cost.

OpenCritic lists Silksong at 98, four points above the next highest-rated 2025 game. Team Cherry didn’t provide advance copies, so major outlets haven’t published reviews yet.

Xbox Game Pass included Silksong at launch. Alinea Analytics estimated 1 million of Silksong’s first 5 million players accessed it through Game Pass.

GameDiscoverCo noted Hell is Us launched the same day as Silksong after reserving September 4 six months earlier. That game’s creative director stated Silksong’s release affected their sales.

Major publishers cut thousands of jobs in 2025. Studios closed. Development budgets increased while Team Cherry operated with three people and produced a game that outsold most AAA releases.

The original Hollow Knight sold consistently for eight years. Silksong sold 4.2 million copies in two weeks, putting it on pace to match or exceed the original’s performance.

Team Cherry has not announced future projects. The studio focuses on post-launch support for Silksong.