This game was supposed to be DLC for the first Hollow Knight until it blew beyond its scope (pic: Team Cherry)



It’s expected to launch by the end of June, but an email saying Hollow Knight: Silksong will be out ‘soon’ has been proven fake.



We’re not even halfway through January and Hollow Knight fans are already being burned again, by the lack of news on sequel Silksong – the long-awaited sequel first announced in 2019.



Every time a Nintendo indies showcase has happened, fans have been convinced it would reappear, only for it to not even be acknowledged. Even when the game made a surprise appearance at Microsoft’s summer showcase , it was just to confirm an Xbox release rather than any launch date.



As such, anyone who may have received an email suggesting that the game will finally release sometime soon is, unfortunately, being scammed.



YouTuber John Wolfe, who normally specialises in streaming horror games, recently revealed that he had received an email from Hollow Knight studio Team Cherry offering him early access to the sequel ahead of its release.



‘Our new game Hollow Knight: Silksong is releasing soon,’ it reads. ‘In this regard, we would like to offer you cooperation. We’ll give you access to the game before its official release, so you can be one of the first to play it and record a video review on your YouTube channel.’



Presumably, other YouTubers may have received the same email and, at a first glance, it seems legit. However, Wolfe has broken down, in a detailed Twitter thread , all the signs that this is a phishing scam.




First, check the language used. Sometimes it’s the obvious “Hello dear” opener, or rampant misspellings. Other times, it’s less apparent things, like using the words “cooperation”, “collaboration”, “advertising”. Professional games PR typically don’t frame the email like that. pic.twitter.com/RPTC5ebUJd — John Wolfe (@JohnWolfeYT) January 7, 2023




One obvious one is the language used, particularly this sentence – ‘We would like to offer you cooperation’ – which sounds like it was written by a robot.



Wolfe also shares a similar type of email he received from someone pretending to be from Bethesda, which very much doesn’t read like it’s from a professional PR spokesperson.



Another sign is the email domain. Although the Hollow Knight email appears to come from Team Cherry itself, the domain doesn’t match the studio’s website.



What’s more, the one who sent the email – Sarah Williams – doesn’t exist at Team Cherry. Its website makes no mention of such a person.



The whole thing falls apart the longer you look at it so, should you receive such an email yourself, don’t be fooled. Surprisingly, at the time of writing, Team Cherry itself hasn’t issued a statement regarding these fake emails.



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On the plus side, Hollow Knight: Silksong is still expected to release later in the year. At the time of its summer showcase last June, Microsoft said that everything being shown would release for Xbox within the next 12 months.



Since Silksong was among the games shown, it stands to reason that, barring any delays, it’ll be out by the end of June 2023.



Hollow Knight: Silksong launches for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.




That’s exactly what we said. — Xbox (@Xbox) June 12, 2022




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