Hollow Knight Reaches Impressive Sales Milestone

Team Cherry has revealed that Hollow Knight has sold 15 million copies since its release in 2017. The indie Metroidvania has received countless accolades from players and critics alike, though its upcoming sequel, Silksong, has hogged most of the spotlight recently. While Silksong is now just weeks away, fans are still enjoying the original Hollow Knight eight years after it first hit the scene.

It’s been a big week for the developers at Team Cherry. Over six years after its initial announcement, Hollow Knight: Silksong finally has a release date of September 4 after a lengthy and, for many fans, frustratingly quiet dev cycle. As excitement around the sequel has surged, it’s breathed new life into the original, which has now passed some noteworthy player and sales milestones.

Hollow Knight Has Sold 15 Million Copies to Date

In an interview with Bloomberg, Team Cherry confirmed that Hollow Knight has sold 15 million copies. It’s unclear when exactly the game reached that mark, but it’s enough to make Hollow Knight “one of the most successful independent video games” of all time, according to the article. For reference, several of the best-selling Pokemon games of all time haven’t hit the 15 million milestone yet, and that’s coming from the second-best-selling video game franchise in history.

Reaching 15 million copies sold is not the game’s only big achievement this week. Following the confirmation of Silksong‘s release date, Hollow Knight broke its concurrent player count record, drawing over 23,000 players on Steam at one time. That’s a 150% increase in the span of just a few days and a testament to just how excited the fanbase is about the upcoming sequel. It remains to be seen how Team Cherry’s second effort will fare in terms of sales and critical reception, but if these recent trends are anything to go off of, it’s already set up to be a smash hit.

This success is all the more impressive when considering the game’s humble origins. Team Cherry has stated that Hollow Knight was originally supposed to be a small two-hour project before it grew into what fans know and love today. Likewise, the sequel started development as DLC for the original Hollow Knight but kept growing as the team came up with new ideas, leading to its extended dev period. While Hollow Knight may not have ended up being what the developers initially intended, looking at these recent numbers, it’s safe to say they probably aren’t mad about what it ultimately became.

Hollow Knight

Released

February 24, 2017

ESRB

E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood

Developer(s)

Team Cherry

Publisher(s)

Team Cherry

Engine

Unity