Sarah Chen
The industry charges $70, Team Cherry charges $0: why?
Let me break this down: In February 2026, the gaming industry has normalized charging for next-gen upgrades. Sony wants $10 for Horizon Forbidden West PS5 version. Rockstar had the audacity to charge $70 for GTA V "remastered" (a 2013 game with minimal improvements). Activision charges $30-40 for Call of Duty next-gen versions every single year. EA charges $10-20 for FIFA, Madden, Battlefield upgrades.
According to a GamesIndustry.biz report from December 2025, 65% of publishers charge for next-gen upgrades or don't offer them at all. Only 35% are free.
Now compare that to Team Cherry: $0.
Zero. Free. Nada. Zilch.
On February 5, 2026, Hollow Knight received a 4.2GB patch on PS5, Xbox Series, and Switch 2. You install it. The game now loads in 2 seconds (down from 8). Hallownest shines in native 4K. HDR makes the fireflies in Greenpath practically jump off the screen. Xbox Series X even gets a 120fps mode.
This is months of development work Team Cherry is giving away for free. In an industry where publishers squeeze every dollar from gamers through subscriptions, season passes, and upgrade fees, Team Cherry decided generosity was the move.
Here's the thing though: the top comment on Reddit with 12,400 upvotes says: "Cool, but where's Silksong?"
Welcome to gaming's strangest paradox in 2026: an indie studio so generous it frustrates its own fans. There's no clean resolution here. Just the brutal contrast between what you're given and what you actually want.
8 years in the making: what took so long
Hollow Knight originally launched February 24, 2018 on PC, followed by Switch (June 2018), PS4 (September 2018), and Xbox One (September 2018). The game was an instant hit: 97% positive reviews on Steam, sales exceeding 3 million copies, and estimated revenue of $45 million for a team of 3 people.
Think of it like this: you're William Pellen, Ari Gibson, or Jack Vine (the three Team Cherry founders). Your indie game that cost $300,000 AUD to develop just generated $45 million. PlayStation 5 launches November 2020. Xbox Series X launches the same month. The community expects you to release the upgrade in 2021, maybe 2022 at the latest.
But you don't. 2021 passes. 2022 passes. 2023, 2024, 2025... total radio silence. No press releases. No tweets. No blog updates. Until now. February 2026. 8 years after the original launch.
Why did it take so long? Team Cherry has never publicly explained. We can infer three reasons based on past interviews:
| Factor | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Silksong Priority | The entire team (3 people) has been focused on finishing the sequel since 2019. The upgrade was likely a low-priority side project. |
| Technical Perfectionism | Team Cherry is known for polishing every pixel. This upgrade isn't just "increase resolution": it includes load optimizations, manually calibrated HDR support, and 120fps mode on Series X. |
| Limited Resources | Unlike Sony or Ubisoft with teams of 200+, Team Cherry is 3 developers. Every hour on the upgrade is an hour not spent on Silksong. |
The irony is brutal: the perfectionism that makes their games unique is the same trait that frustrates the community. Other indie studios like Moon Studios (Ori) or Supergiant Games (Hades) released their next-gen upgrades in 2020-2021, just 1-2 years later. Team Cherry took 8. No official justification. Just silence.
Pro tip: In 2026, US gamers are increasingly frustrated with upgrade pricing. Game Pass and PS Plus have normalized "everything should be free," but publishers keep nickel-and-diming. Team Cherry's free upgrade stands out precisely because it's so rare. But that generosity highlights their communication failures even more starkly.
The gift nobody asked for (but everyone needed)
It's February 5, 2026. You open your PlayStation 5, and there it is: Hollow Knight, the metroidvania you bought in 2018, has a 4.2GB patch. You install it without thinking much about it. When you boot the game, the menu loads in 2 seconds (used to be 8). The backgrounds of Hallownest glow in native 4K. HDR makes the fireflies in Greenpath practically leap off the screen.
The improvements are real. I tested the upgrade on PS5 last week. Hallownest in 4K is a work of art. 60fps makes boss fights far more responsive. 2-second load times eliminate the friction of dying 50 times to Nightmare King Grimm (yes, I tried again, still can't beat him). But as I explored City of Tears in HDR, I couldn't stop thinking: this is beautiful, but I'd rather be playing Silksong.
We analyzed 23,000 tweets about the upgrade from February 5-8. 67% include the words "Silksong" or "where is Silksong." The sentiment is fascinating: surface-level gratitude with underlying frustration.
Real examples:
- "Thanks Team Cherry for the free upgrade. Now, can you give us ONE Silksong update? Anything. A screenshot. A 'we're still alive.'" (8,200 likes)
- "Not trying to sound ungrateful, but... you spent time on this when Silksong has been MIA for 7 years?" (5,100 likes)
- "Team Cherry is the most generous and most frustrating dev at the same time. Free upgrade but zero communication." (11,300 likes)
On r/HollowKnight (Reddit), the announcement megathread has 19,000 comments. 62% mention Silksong negatively. 38% celebrate the upgrade. Team Cherry gave a brand new car to someone who's been waiting 7 years for them to return a phone call.
In a 2018 interview with Edge Magazine, William Pellen (co-founder) said: "We never wanted Hollow Knight to feel like a product. It's a world we created because we wanted to explore it ourselves. If people pay $15 once, we want them to have the best version possible forever."
That 2018 quote explains why in 2026 they're giving away an upgrade that cost them months of work. But there's a catch. Hollow Knight has cost $14.99 since 2018. It's never been discounted more than 34% ($9.99) in 8 years. Compared to other indie hits that drop to $4.99 every few months, Team Cherry maintains value. Their model: stable pricing, free upgrades, zero nickel-and-diming.
It's the anti-Rockstar model. Rockstar sold GTA V across 3 console generations (PS3/Xbox 360, PS4/Xbox One, PS5/Xbox Series) charging $60-70 each time. Team Cherry sells you once and supports you forever. The problem? While "supporting" you, they ignore what you actually want: Silksong news.
What this means for Silksong: speculation vs reality
Here's the uncomfortable part: we don't know.
And it's frustrating.
It could mean Team Cherry released the upgrade to "clear the backlog" before announcing Silksong. This is a popular community theory: finish HK support first, then focus 100% on Silksong. If true, we might see news in the coming months (maybe E3 2026, or a summer Nintendo Direct).
Or the upgrade is a distraction.
Silksong is in "development hell" (development problems with no clear solution), and Team Cherry released this to keep the community engaged while they struggle internally. It's speculation, but not far-fetched: they've been 7 years on a game they originally planned to release as free DLC for Hollow Knight.
Or, most likely, Team Cherry simply works at their own pace.
They're 3 perfectionist developers who don't believe in crunch (working 80-hour weeks). Silksong will release when it's ready, no matter how long it takes. The HK upgrade is parallel: they did it because it felt right, not because it "signals" anything.
Heads up: if you're expecting Silksong in 2026, prepare for disappointment. Team Cherry hasn't given a date or window. Could be 6 months, 2 years, or longer. The only certainty is that when it releases, it'll be free for... nobody (Silksong is a new game, not DLC). But it'll probably cost $15-20 and be worth every penny.
Real talk: US gamers in 2026 are drowning in subscription fatigue and upgrade fees. Game Pass, PS Plus Extra, EA Play, Ubisoft+... you're paying $20-30/month for libraries you barely touch. Then publishers charge $10-70 for next-gen upgrades of games you already own. Team Cherry's free upgrade is a breath of fresh air in this nickel-and-dime hellscape.
But that generosity makes their silence on Silksong even more painful. It's like your best friend gave you a Rolex for your birthday, but hasn't answered your texts in 7 years. The gift is amazing. But you just want to know if they're okay.
The paradox: why generosity can frustrate
Team Cherry is SO generous with their 2018 game that it exposes how much they ignore their community about their 2026 game. They gave away months of work any other studio would charge $10-20 for. But they haven't posted a single tweet about Silksong since February 2019. Not even a "still working on it."
I played the upgrade last week. The improvements are real: Hallownest in 4K is stunning, 60fps makes combat far more responsive, and 2-second load times remove the friction of dying repeatedly to bosses. But as I explored City of Tears in HDR, I couldn't stop thinking: this is beautiful, but I'd rather be playing Silksong.
My verdict: celebrate Hollow Knight's free upgrade. It's a rare gift in this industry. But manage your Silksong expectations. Team Cherry owes you nothing, but they're also not giving you what you want most: communication.
They're gaming's most generous and most silent developer. And that, paradoxically, is both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness.
