Silksong Broke Steam as Players Rushed to Buy Hollow Knight Sequel

Hollow Knight: Silksong launched on Thursday and demand was overwhelming. Steam and other major game stores went down as players tried to buy the game at 15:00 BST. Errors lasted until late afternoon and frustrated fans filled social media with complaints.

The crash showed how highly anticipated the sequel was. Hollow Knight first released in 2017 and has sold over 15 million copies. Fans had waited years for Silksong, and that demand hit online stores all at once.

Silksong Broke Steam with Record Demand

Steam users saw error messages as they tried to check out. Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox stores also had issues. Reports on outage tracker Downdetector peaked at nearly 4,000 during launch.

By 17:30, services slowly returned to normal. But thousands of players said they missed the first hours of release. Some fans criticized Steam for not allowing pre-orders. They argued this would have reduced the server strain.

Despite the chaos, Silksong was already a hit. Within 30 minutes of launch, more than 100,000 people were playing on Steam. Other platforms also recorded high activity as gamers finally got access. According to BBC, the rush was one of the biggest store outages caused by a single game this year.

Impact on Gamers and Stores

The crash left many players angry. Screenshots of error codes spread across X, formerly Twitter. Some gamers joked that buying the game was “the hardest boss” they had beaten.

Game composer Christopher Larkin joked online that Silksong “crashed the internet.” Even publishers reported they had trouble buying the game.

Humble Bundle briefly listed Silksong as unavailable. The listing later returned once demand settled. The scale of the launch underlined just how much anticipation had built around the Hollow Knight sequel.

What This Means for Future Game Launches

This launch may spark new debate on pre-orders. Many fans argued that pre-orders could have prevented the crash. Others said digital stores must improve capacity for big releases.

For now, Hollow Knight: Silksong is off to a huge start despite the rocky rollout. Fans who got in are already exploring the long-awaited sequel. For Team Cherry, the launch chaos shows just how strong the Hollow Knight community remains.

Silksong broke Steam, but it also proved how massive the game has become. The demand signals one of the strongest indie launches in years.

Thought you’d like to know-

Q1: Why did Silksong break Steam?

Silksong broke Steam because demand was too high at launch. Thousands of players tried to buy the game at the same time, causing errors.

Q2: When did Silksong launch?

The game launched at 15:00 BST on Thursday. Errors on Steam lasted until around 17:30.

Q3: How many players were on Steam after launch?

More than 100,000 players were recorded on Steam within 30 minutes of release, despite the early issues.

Q4: Which platforms had problems?

Steam, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox stores all saw errors. Humble Bundle also briefly removed the listing.

Q5: Why were there no pre-orders?

Team Cherry chose not to allow pre-orders. Some fans believe this decision made the launch more difficult for stores.