There are several indications that Silksong is getting ready for launch, but there is still uncertainty about the exact timing.
It has been seven years since the debut of Hollow Knight, the much-loved indie Metroidvania, and there's still no hint of when its sequel, Silksong, will come out.
Initially planned as DLC, development of the game expanded into a full sequel that was scheduled for release in the first half of last year. It currently does not have a release date, but product pages for it suddenly appeared on the PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo stores earlier this week.
However, this does not necessarily signify much, since the game had these pages before and they were later removed. Additionally, it has received an age rating in South Korea, indicating that it is likely only a few months away at most.
In order to receive an accurate age rating for a game, it must be complete or nearly complete. Therefore, when one appears on the website of a ratings agency, it usually indicates that it will be released soon.
South Korea often lists new games first, but recently there has been a series of titles that officially have no release date, including Silent Hill 2 (which was also listed by the ESRB in the US), Star Wars Outlaws, and Silksong.
What's also peculiar is that the Silksong listing was actually in February, which seems very early for a game that has not even been confirmed to be released this year.
However, unless something significant has changed about the age rating process, this means all of those games should be released soon. This is strange because not only is there no official date for any of them, but there has been very little marketing for them as well.
Separate rumors suggest that Silent Hill 2 will appear at the PlayStation Showcase rumored for May, so it's possible that receiving an age rating is no longer a good indication that a game will arrive soon.
Nevertheless, Xbox executive Sarah Bond responded to the reappearance of Silksong in online stores, reminding everyone that it will be available on Game Pass from day one – although she did not give any indication of when it will be released.
It's all rather confusing, but at the very least, it seems reasonable to expect the game to be released this year.
