Hell is Us director called Hollow Knight Silksong launch "callous" after same-day release

The release of Hollow Knight: Silksong on September 4 quickly became one of the most significant gaming events of the year. While many independent developers delayed their projects to avoid clashing with the launch, Hell is Us released on the same day.

After six years of anticipation, Hollow Knight: Silksong surpassed its predecessor’s player count within minutes, received strong critical reception, and even crashed digital storefronts due to overwhelming demand.

Speaking on the Skill Up podcast, director Jacques-Belletete reflected on the decision and its consequences for the game’s visibility.

“They’re allowed to do what they did, there’s no laws or rules against that,” he said of Team Cherry’s decision to announce Silksong just two weeks before launch. “When you know you’re that big, I think a shadow drop is like, ‘wow.’ As the GTA 6 of indie… to shadow drop something like this is a little callous.”

Although Silksong was not shadow-dropped in the strictest sense, the short gap between its announcement and release left competing studios with limited room to adjust.

Jacques-Belletete confirmed that discussions were held about delaying Hell is Us, but the team ultimately chose to proceed.

“We decided to keep the date, and I’m happy we did. We’re still much bigger than some of the smaller [developers] who would have gotten a lot more affected,” he explained.

Despite this, he admitted that Silksong’s launch did have an impact: “I can’t prove it, I don’t have any specific numbers, at least not at this time, but for sure it did.”

He also noted that early September was already crowded with new releases, making it difficult for any game to secure an uncontested window. With Silksong already among 2025’s standout titles, competition for visibility proved unavoidable for Hell is Us.