Team Cherry has announced that their critically acclaimed title Hollow Knight has reached an extraordinary milestone of 15 million copies sold since its initial launch in 2017. This indie Metroidvania masterpiece has garnered widespread praise from both gaming enthusiasts and critics, though recent attention has largely shifted to its highly anticipated sequel, Silksong. With Silksong's release just around the corner, dedicated fans continue to cherish the original Hollow Knight even eight years after its debut.

This has been a significant week for Team Cherry developers. Following an extensive and often quiet development period that tested the patience of many followers, Hollow Knight: Silksong has finally confirmed a release date of September 4, over six years after its initial announcement. The renewed excitement surrounding the sequel has revitalized interest in the original game, pushing it past several remarkable player engagement and sales achievements.

During an interview with Bloomberg, Team Cherry verified that Hollow Knight has reached the impressive threshold of 15 million copies sold. While the exact timing of this achievement remains unspecified, this accomplishment solidifies Hollow Knight's position as "one of the most successful independent video games" in history. To put this into perspective, even some of the best-selling Pokemon titles of all time have yet to reach the 15 million mark, despite originating from the industry's second-most successful video game franchise.

The 15 million sales figure isn't the only remarkable accomplishment for the game this week. Shortly after the confirmation of Silksong's release date, Hollow Knight shattered its previous concurrent player record, attracting more than 23,000 simultaneous players on Steam. This represents a staggering 150% increase within just a few days, demonstrating the immense enthusiasm within the fan community for the forthcoming sequel. While the commercial and critical performance of Team Cherry's second major project remains to be seen, current trends suggest it's positioned for tremendous success.

This success becomes even more remarkable when considering the game's modest beginnings. Team Cherry has revealed that Hollow Knight was initially conceived as a compact two-hour experience before evolving into the expansive adventure that players cherish today. Similarly, the sequel began development as downloadable content for the original game but expanded significantly as the development team generated new concepts, resulting in its prolonged development timeline. Although Hollow Knight ultimately became something different from the developers' original vision, given these recent achievements, it's clear they have no regrets about the final product.