The annual Opening Night Live show is set to feature a long list of games, but one particularly high-profile upcoming sequel will not be there: Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Anticipation for Silksong is so great that those who host livestreams packed full of game announcements, reveals, and new trailers are having to manage expectations by saying Team Cherry’s game will not appear.
In recent years, shows like ONL have seen their chat overrun by requests for Hollow Knight: Silksong, perhaps to the detriment of games that do end up appearing. So it makes sense that Geoff Keighley, who runs ONL as well as the annual Game Awards show, would want to tweet to confirm the Hollow Knight: Silksong no-show. “Just to get this out of the way, no Silksong on Tuesday at ONL,” Keighley said. “Team Cherry Games is still cooking.”
Just to get this out of the way, no Silksong on Tuesday at ONL. @TeamCherryGames is still cooking. pic.twitter.com/FlQHlc26zo
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) August 17, 2024
Hollow Knight fans were already left with an all-too familiar feeling of dismay after 2024's E3-esque video game summer showcases came and went with no word on Silksong. Fans have admitted to concern for the game, which hasn't received any official updates in over a year when developer Team Cherry delayed it out of early 2023.
Silksong was announced on February 14, 2019 as a Hollow Knight expansion turned full sequel focused on Hornet from the original game. "Almost from the very start, Hornet’s adventure was intended to take place in a new land, but as we dove in, it quickly became too large and too unique to stay a DLC, as initially planned," Team Cherry said at the time. "We do know that makes the wait a little longer, but we think the final, fresh world you’ll get to explore is worth it."
The developer then went quiet for two years, only emerging in 2021 to announce it wouldn't have anything to say about Silksong at E3 that year. Another year passed and Silksong finally reared its head, as the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase of 2022 revealed the game would be coming to Microsoft's console and Game Pass on day one. Further hope was inspired as Xbox had said everything shown at the event would be released within a year. That, obviously, did not happen.
The last time Team Cherry issued an update on Silksong was in February this year, when the studio's PR and marketing chief Matthew 'Leth' Griffin posted a brief comment to say it was still "hard at work on the game."
No Hollow Knight: Silksong for Opening Night Live, then. But what WILL be at the show? Keighley confirmed ONL appearances on Tuesday include:
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Monster Hunter Wilds
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Little Nightmares 3
- DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO
- Batman: Arkham Shadow
- Dune Awakening
- Marvel Rivals
- Squid Game: Unleashed
- New Game from Tarsier Studios
- Sid Meier's CIVILIZATION 7
- Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
- Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
According to Keighley, ONL will run for two hours, and "there will also be many new game announcements, surprises and special guests." ONL kicks off at 11am PT / 2pm ET / 8pm CEST on Tuesday, August 20.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
