Hollow Knight: Silksong proves that hype for a sequel can boost the original. But it's not the only evidence

The fear of missing out is a powerful marketing tool. We saw this previously when the TV show adaptations of The Last of Us and Fallout premiered, boosting the sales and player counts of the video games. But it’s not just limited to TV show adaptations. You may have heard about the most-wishlisted game on Steam getting a release date this week. Team Cherry hosted a less than 2-minute video premiere on YouTube for the release date of Hollow Knight: Silksong, which has since earned nearly 4 million views. In the last day, the original game, Hollow Knight, hit an all-time high on Steam, according to SteamDB.

Hollow Knight hits an all-time peak on Steam after the reveal of Silksong’s release date

Team Cherry revealed the release date of Silksong, and that immediately prompted players to either play Hollow Knight as a holdover for the next two weeks or to finally catch up now that the sequel is actually being released. In the last 24 hours, Hollow Knight hit its all-time peak on Steam, and it’s been available since 2017. And sure, this could be a unique case. Hollow Knight: Silksong has absolutely reached unprecedented levels of hype, so it makes sense that players would reach for whatever is available. But it’s not the only game to have recently had this effect.

During gamescom’s Opening Night Live, an announcement trailer for LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight premiered. It combined scenes from many of the masked vigilante’s popular movie adaptations, including the Dark Knight series, and the more recent film starring Robert Pattinson. All this sounds great, but it also had an impact on previous LEGO Batman Steam numbers.

A post on the LEGOGaming subreddit pointed out that both LEGO Batman 1 and 2 have reached an all-time peak on Steam following the announcement of the new entry in the series. Sure, these games may not have reached the five-digit figures that Hollow Knight reached, but there is a very clear and consistent upward trend that’s hard to ignore.

Ultimately, I’m not quite sure what developers can use this information for. Building the level of hype that Silksong and LEGO Batman have isn’t always the most achievable task. Maybe it’s just another factor to think about when deciding the potential revenue and investment into a sequel. When there is enough excitement about a game, players will find the easiest and quickest way to satisfy the craving. Or maybe, with the announcement of an exciting continuation of the series, it will finally encourage everyone who’s had the previous games in their backlog to give it a try.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

September 4, 2025

Rate It!

• Overview
• Review

• LEGO
• TT Games / Traveller's Tales
• LEGO Batman
• Team Cherry
• Hollow Knight (series)