After six years of dormancy, "Song of Silk" finally emerged from the sheath: "Song of Silk" set off a "peak-avoidance trend" in the independent game circle

After six years of dormancy, "Song of Silk" finally emerged from the sheath: "Song of Silk" set off a "peak-avoidance trend" in the independent game circle

When the stage lights of Gamescom illuminated the Team Cherry team, players around the world had been anxiously waiting for six years to finally be released. The official announcement of the release of "Hollow Knight: Silk Song" on September 4 was like a boulder dropped into a calm lake. It not only caused the number of concurrent online users of the original "Hollow Knight" on Steam to soar to a peak of 45,000, but also set off a massive "schedule migration" in the independent game circle.

Phenomenal expectations: from player carnival to industry shock

This release date, which was six years late, instantly ignited the long-established enthusiasm. As the game with the highest number of wishlists in the history of the Steam platform (it has exceeded 4.8 million copies as of August 2025), the release of "Silk Song" is like dropping an industry depth bomb. The original "Hollow Knight" achieved the best results in history after the news was announced. The peak of 45,595 players online at the same time that day was more than double the previous record. Even after the popularity slowed down, it still stabilized at 23,000 concurrent players, which is enough to prove the lasting influence of the series.

But this fanaticism has become a "sweet trouble" that independent developers of the same period have to face. As the developers of "Stomp and the Sword of Miracles" wrote metaphorically in the postponement announcement: "In front of Silk Song, small developers are like krill trying to avoid the blue whale - we rely on word-of-mouth and anchor exposure, and everyone will be busy exploring Hall's own adventure." This huge disparity in size directly triggered a collective schedule adjustment in the independent game circle.

Dominoes: Survival wisdom in the tide of delays

First up is Aeterna Lucis from Spanish team Aeternum Game Studios. This new Metroidvania game, which took four years to develop, was originally scheduled to be released in September, but was urgently postponed to 2026 on the day of the official announcement of "Silk Song". "Competing with such a phenomenal work would be a failure of both the team's hard work and the players' expectations." The developers admitted in a statement that they plan to use this time to optimize the next-generation version, especially for the rumored Switch 2 platform. This announcement unexpectedly received more than 1.2 million views, equivalent to a hundred times the usual attention, becoming a typical case of "exposure dividend in the shadows".

This was closely followed by "Faeland", which launched crowdfunding in 2018. This work, which was originally scheduled to be released on September 9, chose to be postponed indefinitely, and the developer only left a vague statement of "waiting for the right time." What is even more dramatic is that the "Stomp and the Sword of Miracles" team not only postponed the crowdfunding plan originally scheduled for the end of August, but also postponed the trial demo in early September, just to avoid the traffic storm caused by "Song of Silk".

Avoidance across genres is equally evident. The "Clown Card Like" game "CloverPit" has adjusted its release date from September 3 (only one day earlier than "Song of Silk") to September 26. The developer frankly said: "All players, including team members, will invest in "Song of Silk" as soon as possible, and we do not want to be a voice that is covered up." Even the banner RPG "Demon School", which was originally intended to compete head-on, was forced to postpone its release date from September 3 to November 19 due to the intervention of the publisher. According to incomplete statistics, at least 8 independent games have adjusted their schedules due to "Song of Silk", forming a rare phenomenon of collective peak avoidance in the industry.

Life in the Shadows: Unexpected Opportunities in Crisis

Interestingly, this forced migration was not all negative. The postponement announcement of "Aeterna Lucis" unexpectedly became a hot topic on social media. Players left messages of comfort in the comment area: "Wise decision, I will wait for you to return as the king next year." This "blessing in disguise" exposure effect allowed the originally unknown small production to gain far more attention than expected.

What is even more tender is the sympathy between independent developers. When the "Baby Steps" team announced the delay, they specially released a piece of footage of a level design based on the protagonist Wasp of "Silk Song". Players have called for this easter egg to be retained in the final version. This humorous tribute shows the tender side of the independent game circle amid brutal competition.

Outside the schedule: Quality is the eternal passport

Looking back at the history of games, schedule selection is important, but ultimately it cannot determine the final fate of the work. The case where "Baldur's Gate 3" was released in advance in 2023 to avoid "Starry Sky" and finally counterattacked and became a phenomenon-level work with its excellent quality is the best proof. As the developers of "Aeterna Lucis" emphasized in their statement: "Extra time will be used to polish details, optimize the experience and open beta testing to ensure the best presentation." This attitude of turning pressure into polishing motivation may be the best strategy for independent games to deal with the impact of giants.

When "Silk Song" arrives as scheduled on September 4, it will not only bring players the long-awaited adventure, but will also become an excellent sample for observing the game market ecology. Those works that have temporarily given way are gathering strength and waiting for their own stage - after all, in the game industry, what is truly remembered is not the release date, but the quality and sincerity of the work itself. For players, this "peak-avoidance trend" means that more carefully polished works will be released in the future, which is not a bad thing.