With Team Cherry announcing that Hollow Knight: Silksong will officially launch on September 4, the classic title Hollow Knight has exploded in popularity once again, even taking the No. 1 spot on the Steam Deck’s August playtime rankings. According to Valve, despite having been released for years, Hollow Knight still commands enormous appeal on the handheld platform. Following the Silksong release-date reveal, Hollow Knight’s concurrent players on Steam quickly broke past 20,000 and, by September 1, surged to 71,000—an all-time high.
This surge has rippled across the industry. According to foreign media reports, at least several indie games originally slated for September–October have chosen to delay, likely to avoid Silksong’s launch window. Smaller studios know that competing head-to-head with such a highly anticipated sequel could result in poor visibility and disappointing sales.
It’s also worth noting that the Steam store page now confirms Silksong has earned Steam Deck compatibility (Verified) status, with controls, UI, and performance all optimized for the device. For players who love gaming on the go, both the original and the sequel will deliver a smooth experience on Steam Deck. That also helps explain why Hollow Knight dominated the Steam Deck chart in August. Ready to dive into Silksong?