Hell is Us Director Slams Hollow Knight Silksong Shadow Drop as 'Callous' Move September 16, 2025

The Indie Game Massacre That Nobody Saw Coming

During a recent Friends Per Second interview, Jacques-Belletête didn’t mince words about Team Cherry’s decision. “When you know you’re that big, I think a shadow drop is a bit like… wow,” he said, describing Silksong as the “GTA 6 of indie” games. And you know what? That comparison isn’t hyperbole—it’s just facts wrapped in frustration.

The Silksong announcement didn’t just ruffle feathers; it caused a full-blown migration pattern. Games scattered like pigeons when someone claps too loud. Demonschool packed its bags for November. Baby Steps took, well, baby steps backward from its original date. Even Stomp and the Sword of Miracles—a game that didn’t even have a release date—decided to delay its Kickstarter because apparently, even the idea of competing with Hornet was too intimidating.

The casualty list reads like a indie game developer’s worst nightmare: Aeterna Lucis, Little Witch in the Woods, CloverPit, Megabonk, Faeland, Starbirds, and Moros Protocol all felt the tremors from Team Cherry’s announcement earthquake.

Why Jacques-Belletête Has Every Right to Be Salty

Here’s where things get interesting (and a little messy). Jacques-Belletête and his team decided to stick to their guns, keeping their September 4th release date despite the Silksong steamroller heading their way. “We decided to keep the date, and I’m happy that we did,” he explained, though you can practically hear the gritted teeth behind that statement.

But here’s the kicker—changing release dates isn’t just about moving some numbers around on a calendar. It’s a logistical nightmare that involves refunding pre-orders, rebuilding marketing momentum, and basically starting your hype train from scratch. As Jacques-Belletête put it: “The real pain in the ass is that you have to refund your pre-orders when you do that, right?”

The man has a point. When you’re not sitting on the massive pile of goodwill and anticipation that Team Cherry has built over the years, pivoting isn’t just difficult—it’s potentially business-ending.

The Shadow Drop That Wasn’t Really a Shadow Drop

Let’s get technical for a hot minute. What Team Cherry pulled wasn’t technically a shadow drop in the traditional sense. Real shadow drops are when developers announce and release a game on the same day (looking at you, Apex Legends). Team Cherry gave everyone a whole two weeks’ notice, which in gaming terms is like shouting “fire” in a crowded theater and then counting to ten before everyone starts running.

But when you’re dealing with a game that’s been more mythical than Half-Life 3 for the past few years, two weeks might as well be two minutes. The anticipation for Silksong has reached meme-level status, with fans treating every Xbox showcase like a potential Silksong reveal and every Team Cherry tweet like a cryptic prophecy.

The Modern Gaming Release Calendar Nightmare

Jacques-Belletête also touched on something that resonates with anyone who’s tried to find a quiet weekend in the gaming calendar lately: “Getting a window where you’re pretty much alone is almost impossible. 15 years ago, the mid-end of the summer was always a dead period. But there’s no such thing anymore. It’s just constant madness.”

He’s absolutely right. The gaming landscape has become a 365-day-a-year content hurricane. Remember when August used to be the gaming equivalent of a sleepy Sunday afternoon? Those days are deader than a Hollow Knight speedrunner’s social life.

Every week brings new releases, remasters, surprise announcements, and enough DLC to choke a digital storefront. Finding a clear launch window is like trying to parallel park in Manhattan during rush hour—technically possible, but you’re probably going to scrape something.

The Bigger Picture: When David Meets Goliath

What makes this whole situation particularly stinging is the David vs. Goliath dynamic at play. Team Cherry, despite being an indie darling, wields the kin.

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