Time and time again, industries which once seemed too big to fall (e.g. music and film) come crashing down at the hands of opportunistic mega-corporations. These mega-corps outcompete small-yet-passionate studios via throwing money from deep pockets at soulless products which cater to market trends, aiming not to create art nor to revolutionize nor evolve the industry, but to keep their investors happy. They gloat about growing profit margins while disregarding the long-term implications of consumer fatigue, priced-out consumers, industry stagnation, and so on.
Charging onto the scene with an unprecedented >500k concurrent users on Steam alone, with a launch so massive it caused all digital storefront servers to crash (Steam, eShop, PS Store, Xbox Store), a game developed by 3 people has managed to embarrass the likes of Microsoft, Ubisoft, EA, and whatever other industry giant you can think of. The reason for this success is no mystery either: Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight: Silksong reiterates an important industry lesson taught by Astro Bot almost exactly one year prior (which coincidentally released the same weekend as Silksong), that less is more.
Games such as Silksong, Astro Bot, and Expedition 33 serve as powerful demonstrations for what direction the industry should instead be heading in. Not in the direction of $80 games played on $1,000 handhelds with a $200 annual subscription service; but in the direction of a 2D Metroidvania selling at $20, a delightful little platformer produced by a team of 60, and a industry-shaking JRPG selling at $40.
Last edited by firebush03 - on 04 September 2025
