Hollow Knight’s Steam Revival: Silksong’s Halo Effect in 2025 and Beyond

When Hollow Knight: Silksong arrived in 2025, attention naturally shifted to Team Cherry’s long-awaited sequel. Yet something unexpected happened on Steam: the original 2017 Hollow Knight climbed alongside its successor. Publicly tracked data showed the original reaching 92,866 concurrent players, an all-time peak that was still rising when the figure was recorded. For a game first released years earlier, the number was remarkable. It marked the first time the original had ever crossed the 90,000 concurrent-player milestone on Steam. The sequel was larger in raw scale, with Silksong peaking at 587,150 players, but the original’s revival told a distinct story about legacy, discovery, and the strange halo effect a sequel can create.

🎮 A Record Built on Word of Mouth

Hollow Knight has long been regarded as one of the best Metroidvania games ever made. Its 2017 release found immediate critical success, and positive word of mouth helped turn an indie project into a commercial success. The game has since surpassed the 15 million sales mark, a remarkable achievement for Team Cherry. Its reputation rests on a hand-drawn world, precise combat, exploration, and lore that rewards curiosity. By the time Silksong approached release, many players had heard of Hollow Knight without having played it. The sequel’s launch created a new sense of urgency.

📈 The Numbers Behind the Surge

Milestone
Figure
Context

Original Hollow Knight peak before the 2025 surge
20,324
August 2022

Original Hollow Knight peak in the prior month
70,000+
Month before Silksong’s launch

steam sale tracker

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