Crash!
That was the sound heard across the world on Sept. 4–the release date for Hollow Knight: Silksong, a long-awaited sequel to the game Hollow Night by its company Team Cherry (an indie game studio).
Its release was so anticipated that when it occurred, almost all (if not all) major online game-purchasing platforms, such as the Nintendo shop and Steam, crashed–rendering them temporarily unusable due to the large influx of enthusiasts trying to purchase the game all at once. However, Orbin Buell, an EHS Sophomore, wasn’t as upset as some.“I think it’s funny that it crashed it all!”
Who is Team Cherry?
Team Cherry is an indie games developer in Adelaide, South Australia. “Our mission is to build crazy, exciting worlds for you to explore and conquer,” touts the message on the TC website. Although an international sensation, Team Cherry is actually a very small studio, consisting of only three team members.
Sophomore Tristan Shannon, a gamer, finds this fact intriguing. “Unlike other games that have crashed, Steam and other gaming platforms servers,” Shannon begins, “it’s funny how Silksong’s maker, Team Cherry, only has a team of three people. I think that’s funny.”
The three people behind Hollow Knight: Silksong include Ari Gibson, a Co-director who has a long background of animation and modding; William Pellen, also a Co-director who has been designing and building games for years; and Jack Vine, who is the “supremely talented coder” (as they say) who has been building out the systems and optimizing everything they make.
How did the release go?
The game used no advertising or early released copies to big streamers to advertise their release, Hollow Knight: Silksong released and their loyal fans showed up–over half a million of them, and within 24 hours, they crashed the stores with the sheer amount of people trying to purchase the game. Additionally, they made over $10 million, with a game costing only $20. As Shannon says, “Silk song is so [fricking] good; it’s better than the first game!”
How did the community react?
The community reacted accordingly, with people praising the game for its cheap price and amazing gameplay. Even more surprisingly, a big game pirating community made a public announcement that they won’t pirate the game because of its fair price and game quality.
What Does Silksong Mean for Future Gamers?
With the release of Silksong six weeks ago–and the amazing reaction from its community and others since–hopefully, this causes a domino effect that results in games being of either higher quality or cheaper to purchase as time moves on.
