Table of Contents
Introduction
After seven years of anticipation, the long-awaited launch of Hollow Knight: Silksong turned into both a celebration and a nightmare for gamers worldwide. On September 4, 2025, within minutes of release, the overwhelming demand crashed major digital storefronts including Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, and Nintendo eShop.
For many fans, the joy of finally playing Silksong quickly shifted to frustration as purchase errors, download failures, and missing store pages dominated the experience.
The Storefront Chaos: What Happened?
Steam Struggles
- Players reported endless loading loops and “Something went wrong” error messages.
- The game’s page often failed to load entirely, leaving millions of wishlisters locked out.
Nintendo eShop Collapse
- Switch owners faced severe lag and the game page disappearing during peak demand.
- Some players waited over 20 minutes for transactions to process.
PlayStation Store Issues
- For hours, Silksong was unsearchable or inaccessible on the PS Store.
- Gamers on PS5 posted screenshots showing empty listings.
Xbox Game Pass Glitches
- Downloads stalled or failed outright on Xbox.
- Some managed to bypass issues using the web console, but it wasn’t consistent.
Why Did the Crash Happen?
- Unprecedented Demand
- Silksong was wishlisted by over 4.8 million Steam users before launch.
- Hype for the sequel far exceeded the original Hollow Knight’s release.
- Affordable Pricing
- At just $20 / €20, the game’s accessible price point added to the surge.
- Multi-Platform Release
- Launching simultaneously on Steam, Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation, plus day-one on Xbox Game Pass, magnified pressure on all storefronts.
- Indie Dominance
- Competing studios even delayed their releases to avoid Silksong’s impact, highlighting its massive cultural moment.
Gamers React Online
Social media exploded with frustration and memes:
- On Reddit: “Servers down everywhere… took 26 minutes before eShop finally accepted the purchase.”
- On Bluesky: “STEAM, LET ME PLAY SILKSONG” trended within minutes.
- On X (Twitter):
Gamers shared screenshots of blank store pages captioned, “The real boss fight: buying the game.”
Recovery Timeline
- Steam & eShop: Services partially restored within 2–3 hours.
- PlayStation Store: Recovery took longer, frustrating PS5 owners late into the evening.
- Xbox Game Pass: Stabilized gradually, but many users reported intermittent issues throughout launch day.
Despite Issues, a Record-Breaking Launch
Even with storefront crashes, Hollow Knight: Silksong smashed records:
- Over 100,000 concurrent players on Steam within 45 minutes.
- Later reports cited 535,213 simultaneous players, making it one of the top three most-played games in Steam’s history.
- Nintendo and PlayStation both reported record digital sales despite the chaos.
Key Takeaways
| Issue | Details |
|---|---|
| Platforms Affected | Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop |
| Main Cause | Overwhelming demand + simultaneous multi-platform launch |
| Gamers Experienced | Crashes, lag, missing game pages, failed downloads |
| Social Media Reaction | Outrage, memes, community bonding through frustration |
| Launch Success | Record-breaking concurrent players & sales despite outages |
Conclusion
The launch of Hollow Knight: Silksong will be remembered as both a technical disaster and a historic success. The game’s release highlighted the vulnerability of even the biggest digital storefronts under overwhelming demand.
For players, the delays were frustrating, but the record-breaking numbers prove that Silksong has cemented its place as one of the most anticipated and impactful indie releases of all time.
While Team Cherry can celebrate the game’s success, the industry faces a clear lesson: when millions of fans rush to play at once, even the biggest platforms can crash.