Xbox tries again, says Hollow Knight: Silksong will have a Gamescom 2025 demo, its first public showcase in 6 years, and suggests it's coming "this holiday"

Hollow Knight: Silksong will have a public demo at Gamescom 2025 over in the Xbox corner, giving long-starved fans their first real taste of the game since an E3 2019 Nintendo Treehouse demo. Yeah, it's been that long. The upcoming Australian museum demo doesn't really count.

Xbox-related Silksong announcements have let fans down before, but this news comes after Team Cherry committed to a 2025 launch. Xbox seems to be putting Silksong down for a holiday release here.

"This year, the Xbox booth will be full of fantastic upcoming games from Xbox and our incredible third-party partners coming to Xbox, PC, and Game Pass this Holiday and beyond – and yes, that includes Hollow Knight: Silksong," the official Xbox blog reads, stopping just short of renting a marquee to write 'Silksong is real' in lights. This suggests a November or December Silksong release.

The Silksong demo will be playable on PC and the new ROG Xbox Ally X. The new Xbox-styled handheld PC previously featured Silksong in its reveal, and the game remains a day-one Xbox Game Pass title after all these years.

"And beyond" leaves the door open for 2026 release dates (or later) for the games shown at Xbox Gamescom, which might seem scary, but try to focus on the "holiday" part here. Team Cherry – granted, not the most reliable oracle – has been sticking to a 2025 launch so far this year, so this holiday timing could actually narrow it down for us.

Naturally, some of the Skong faithful have taken this as a sign that an unannounced Nintendo Direct rumored, as ever, for the coming months will give us a final release date. Apparently, they didn't learn their lesson from the other 47 Nintendo Direct no-shows. But hey, Silksong was at the Switch 2 reveal and that gave us the 2025 confirmation, so maybe Silksong has turned a corner.

Other Skong devoted, worn down by years of desperation and rumor-mongering, seem to have rejected this news as a mere ploy, like tragic creatures trapped underground for years rejecting the sunlight they once fervently sought. I know it's hard to believe, so say it slowly: public demo, 2025 launch, probable holiday timing. Phew.

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