All of the money Silksong will (not) make - redux
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News index
+ Silksong broke team, the PS Store and the Nintendo eShop
- A parachute for Bioshock 4
+ A bundle for Palestine on itch.io
- Escape from Tarkov has a release date
Hollow Knight: Silksong was released at 4 PM CEST on Thursday, September 4th, paralyzing Steam, the PlayStation Store, the Nintendo eShop, and the Xbox Store. Demand for this game (the most wishlisted title in Steam's history) was so high that Valve's entire payment system crashed for over an hour, and the game wasn't downloadable on the PlayStation Store until 5:30 PM. The Switch 1 and 2 eShops were also paralyzed by the number of people wanting to try the newly released game.
Team Cherry was aware of the astronomic levels of hype their metroidvania was generating and could have asked their fans for any price, much like what 2K and Rockstar plan to do for GTA 6 which, according to some rumors, will cost $100. Instead, they decided to release Silksong at the same price as Hollow Knight, €19.50. The market's hunger for high quality and affordable experiences that don't subscribe to the AAA logic is immense and I'm shure that even with a seven-year development time, this launch will become a hot topic of discussion at many management meetings in the coming months.
Next week, in the full version of this newsletter, you'll find an unusual review of Silksong that will look at the game from a very unusual perspective, especially since there's very little convincing to be done: the game is a gem and deserves all the attention it's receiving. A launch of this magnitude, predictably, has caused the delay of several other games, including two Metroidvanias, Faeland (which was scheduled to leave Early Access) and Aeterna Lucis (the sequel to the critically acclaimed Aeterna Noctis, which has had its release date moved to 2026): the Persona-style RPG Demonschool, and Devolver's absurd Baby Steps.
The launch of Silksong is a celebration for the video game world: so much positivity, so much excitement at the prospect of a new, unexplored world, and so much sense of payback against an industry that has done everything it can to squeeze every penny from its fans. I look forward to seeing the results that the long-lasting impact of this historic moment will have on development sectors big and small.
A parachute for Bioshock 4 - Perhaps you may not know, like 99% of video game lovers who aren't obsessed with Bioshock, that a fourth installment in Ken Levine's legendary saga has been in development for more than a decade. Cloud Chamber, the studio working on it, reminded us of its existence after a major internal test failed to meet the expected goals and resulted in several shakeups at the top. Kelley Gilmore, the studio's head, is no longer leading the project, replaced by Rod Fergusson, former head of The Coalition, the studio that made Gears of War. Fergusson is known as "the man who finishes games," having led from development hell to the release both BioShock Infinity and Diablo 4, the latter of which he left as studio head to work on BioShock 4.
A bundle for Palestine on itch.io - Called Play for Peace, this bundle from itch.io costs $8 and contains a myriad of video games, role-playing games, and board games, with the explicit goal of supporting the Palestinian cause. Some notable titles include the beautiful Coffee Talk, Hyper Gunsport, Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To, VVVVVV, Extreme Meatpunks Forever, and Lucifer Within Us. Proceeds go to UNRWA USA, which will donate funds directly to the UN agency.
Escape From Tarkov has a release date - The great and controversial extraction shooter from Russian developer Battlestate Games will be released on November 15th after eight years in beta. Tarkov is the game that launched the trend for extraction shooters, revolutionized the world of milsims (those shooters that claim to be "realistic"), and changed the way developers interact with fans due to the scandals surrounding some premium editions of the game whose included content was revised post-release. We'll be analyzing the 1.0 right here when it's released to answer a fundamental question: can an eight-year-old beta still be called a beta?
This is just a taste of everything Letter to a Gamer has to offer. Looking for a new video game and not sure what to choose? In the full version, you'll find four suggestions, including full games and demos, to broaden your gaming horizons. Want a thoughtful and impartial critique of the latest video games? Each week's review is there waiting for you. Want a look behind the scenes of video game development with deep dives and interviews? The in-depth features at the end of each letter are there for you. The full version of Letter to a Gamer costs one euro a week (click here to subscribe), and it's only thanks to those who help me pay the bills that this project can continue to exist.
See you at the next letter,
Riccardo "Tropic" Lichene