Hollow Knight: Silksong developer Team Cherry is currently basking in the glow of a successful game release. Since launch, Silksong has gathered an array of accolades, reviews filled with praise, and even early award nominations. But even in this glow, the studio can’t escape the question: what’s next?
Speaking to Bloomberg, the Adelaide-based team discussed its future, answering questions about its next game, and the path ahead. While there wasn’t anything particularly tangible announced, Team Cherry did confirm it remains brimming with new ideas, which it hopes to see realised in future.
The only challenge, as discussed by studio co-founder Ari Gibson, is the time barrier of death.
Team Cherry on the studio’s future timeline – quick links
Why death is a motivator for Hollow Knight: Silksong‘s Team Cherry
‘We do have other games that we plan to make,’ Gibson told Bloomberg. ‘The only time concern really is – and we’ve talked about this before – death. It’s not that far off if you spend seven years per project, and potentially add another two.’
As Gibson acknowledged, Hollow Knight: Silksong was a labour of love, developed over a seven year period. When the studio first began work on the title, it didn’t intend on this timeframe, and didn’t really foresee it – but a desire to flesh out the game and create a fully-realised world contributed to this truncated cycle.
Per studio co-director William Pellen, they ‘haven’t thought that much about the time’ it’ll take for their next project, although ideas are spinning.
It means the timeline for the future remains unclear and unpredictable – although the studio is well aware of their limits, and how many ideas they can develop before the final curtain falls.
What is Team Cherry working on next?
For now, Team Cherry hasn’t formally announced its next project, although it has expressed a desire to focus on worlds beyond Hollow Knight. While it still wants to create games exploring ‘big worlds full of weird characters and giant bosses and whatnot’ they don’t want to primarily be the ‘Hollow Knight‘ studio.
As Gibson and Pellen explained, there’s plenty of ideas left in the tank, and plenty of new worlds and ideas worth exploring. They made clear to Bloomberg that it’s not a case of being typecast, or being ‘sick’ of the Hollow Knight world, but that it would be more rewarding to explore new avenues.
‘If we were forced to make another Hollow Knight right now it’d be a joy,’ Gibson said. ‘It’s just that it’d be interesting for us to explore the same things we’re interested in but maybe in a slightly different genre, slightly different theme, and how that affects the stories we come up with. We’re interested to see what would happen ourselves.’
For now, it feels likely that Team Cherry’s next game will be a divergence from the world of Hollow Knight, although buoyed by similar ideas.
The studio remains focussed on Silksong in the near future and ‘looking at what else can be brought to the experience and how that world can expand.’ It plans to remain ‘coy’ about its next steps, and what will be added to the game, but players can expect updates soon.
As with all things Team Cherry, it’s best to stay patient to hear what comes next.
Also on ScreenHub: The Game Awards 2025 nominations recognise the best games of the year
Nominations for The Game Awards 2025 have been announced, with a range of well-deserving games getting nods across an array of categories. Game of the Year is particularly stacked, with titles including Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Ghost of Yōtei and Hollow Knight: Silksong vying for the crown – but the same applies to nearly every category.
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