Games

Hollow Knight Silksong DLC Plans, Steel Assassin Sharpe And Future Updates

30 November 2025
Nintendo Switch 2Nintendo Switch
11 min.
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Hollow Knight Silksong DLC Plans, Steel Assassin Sharpe And Future Updates

Summary:

Hollow Knight Silksong finally arrived in September 2025 after years of waiting, but Team Cherry has made it clear that Hornet’s journey is not finished yet. In a new interview tied to the game’s successful launch, studio leads Ari Gibson and William Pellen confirmed that fresh material is already in development, framed as DLC and other post launch additions rather than a tiny balance patch. They describe ideas they still want to realise, reference backer obligations like the Village of Lions and openly acknowledge that players are hoping for something on the scale of Hollow Knight’s Godmaster and pantheon updates. At the center of those expectations sits Steel Assassin Sharpe, a Kickstarter created rival who was teased in early Silksong marketing, cut from the final release, and now described as “waiting in the wings” with two fellow assassins. We look at what has been confirmed, how Sharpe fits into those plans, what past expansions can tell us about the likely shape of future updates and how players can prepare their save files so they are ready to dive straight into new challenges the moment they arrive.

Silksong’s launch and why new DLC talks matter right now

Silksong is no longer a distant promise but a finished game in players’ hands, released worldwide on September 4, 2025 across PC, consoles and Nintendo Switch 2. That alone changes the tone of any discussion around extra material, because the studio is no longer juggling hype trailers and long silences, it is looking at real player data, community reactions and a world that many people have thoroughly explored. When a team starts talking about DLC just weeks after launch, it signals that they already had unfinished ideas parked to one side rather than scrambling to invent new ones from scratch. In Silksong’s case, those ideas are tightly connected to its drawn out development and to the many backer promises that could not fit into the base release. Fans remember how Hollow Knight grew over time with sizeable expansions that felt generous for the asking price, so the moment Team Cherry hints that they are doing something similar again, expectations spike. That is why these new comments matter so much right now for anyone still obsessing over Pharloom’s secrets.

How Team Cherry confirmed new Hollow Knight Silksong DLC

The clearest confirmation that Silksong will receive DLC arrived through a fresh round of interviews centered on the game’s launch and reception. During a high profile conversation with Bloomberg, later summarised by several gaming outlets, Gibson and Pellen explain that they are already working on additional material for Silksong on top of the balance patches that shipped soon after release. They speak about “obligations” they still intend to deliver on, clearly nodding to Kickstarter promises, while also mentioning ideas that go beyond any reward list. Crucially, they do not describe this as vague long term dreaming but as active work that sits alongside their early planning for completely new games. In parallel, coverage from specialist press highlights that Team Cherry is considering DLC at multiple scales, from smaller additions to something comparable to Godmaster in Hollow Knight. All of this builds a consistent picture of a team that views Silksong as a living project rather than a one and done sequel.

What the Bloomberg interview actually said about timing

When the conversation turns to timing, Gibson and Pellen strike a careful balance between reassurance and honesty. On one hand, they openly acknowledge that Silksong’s seven year journey was far longer than anyone expected when the project first spun out from Hollow Knight. On the other, they stress that they did not plan for that delay and do not intend to repeat such a stretched schedule for DLC. Gibson describes their current philosophy in a way that will feel familiar to longtime fans: the team follows ideas where they lead, even if that means scope grows in unexpected ways, but they always move forward rather than becoming stuck. He notes that they do not want extra updates to take an “excessive” amount of time, yet refuses to attach a date or even a release window. That mix of “we are working on it right now” and “we will not pin down a calendar” is very deliberate. It lets players feel confident that DLC is real while protecting the team from the kind of countdown pressure that already haunted Silksong’s base development.

Steel Assassin Sharpe’s journey from Kickstarter star to cut boss

To understand why Sharpe keeps surfacing whenever DLC is mentioned, it helps to rewind to Silksong’s earliest days as a Hollow Knight offshoot. Years before anyone knew the word Pharloom, Team Cherry introduced Steel Assassin Sharpe in a Kickstarter update as a backer created rival boss, designed with supporter Jaspal Boodram. Sharpe was described as a lethal assassin bug from a distant land, wielding a whip like proboscis and supported by companions who would hunt Hornet across multiple encounters. Promotional art and early blog posts leaned heavily on this trio, positioning them as recurring antagonists, which turned Sharpe into a sort of folk legend inside the community. Fast forward to the 2025 launch and players discovered that Sharpe and the promised companions were nowhere to be found in the finished game, with later documentation classifying them as cut material. For backers and lore hungry fans that absence felt strange, and it pushed Sharpe into the spotlight again as a symbol of everything that had been left on the cutting room floor.

How Sharpe and the assassin trio can return as headline DLC

Recent comments from Team Cherry finally explain what happened to Sharpe and why that absence might be temporary. Gibson says that Sharpe and the other steel assassins were “tucked away for a while” because the game already had so much inside it and because these foes needed additional polish. The important part is what comes next: he describes Sharpe and company as “waiting in the wings” and states that the team is excited to reintroduce them. When a developer frames a fully designed enemy suite in that way, it strongly suggests they see it as a natural pillar for a future expansion rather than a scrapped idea. Sharpe’s role as a persistent rival and the trio’s strong visual identity make them perfect anchors for a focused DLC arc, perhaps built around a new wish line, a fresh area or a series of assassin contracts that push Hornet into more aggressive encounters. Nothing concrete has been announced, but Sharpe has clearly moved from “missing boss” to “most obvious face of whatever comes next”.

What Hollow Knight’s post launch expansions tell us about Silksong

Anyone trying to guess the shape of future Silksong additions should look back at how Hollow Knight grew after release. That game received several major free updates, including Hidden Dreams, The Grimm Troupe and Godmaster, which layered in new bosses, quests, charms and modes while respecting the original map layout. Godmaster in particular introduced a pantheon structure that let players refight bosses in curated gauntlets, turning mastery into its own long term challenge. In the latest interviews, Gibson explicitly references how many players would like something similar for Silksong, and hints that some DLC pieces could reach a comparable scale. That does not mean every update will be huge, but it shows that Team Cherry is comfortable treating expansions as spaces for experimental structures rather than just dropping a single optional boss. Given how many enemy concepts, areas and systems were shown in early Silksong materials and never appeared in the final build, there is plenty of raw material to fuel that kind of layered approach again.

Why Team Cherry is careful about promising DLC release dates

Silksong’s long path to release has clearly influenced how Gibson and Pellen talk about anything that is still in flux. They repeatedly mention that their creative process is built around letting ideas breathe, following threads of design and story until they naturally connect, instead of forcing them into a rigid schedule. That philosophy produced a sequel that feels dense and surprising, but it also turned “soon” into a running joke for years. The team appears determined not to repeat the same communication pattern with DLC. Instead of throwing out a season window or roadmap, they talk about “different things arriving at different scales” and about a communication cadence that will become more frequent once they have concrete material to show. It is an approach that might frustrate players who want dates they can circle in a calendar, yet it also reduces the risk of very public delays. For a small studio, that caution is a survival skill as much as a public relations choice.

What kind of DLC structure Silksong might follow beyond Sharpe

Even if Sharpe ends up front and center in the first wave of DLC, the recent interviews suggest that Team Cherry is thinking more broadly about how Silksong can grow. Gibson talks about ideas arriving at “different scales”, from smaller additions to updates that feel closer to full expansions. One obvious candidate is a pantheon style structure that gives Hornet her own boss challenge space, allowing players to rematch key fights without replaying entire runs. Another is the fulfilment of backer locations such as the Village of Lions, which would naturally slide into Pharloom’s wider geography and add new NPCs, charms and wishes. The team also mentions their desire to explore other games in the future, which subtly encourages them to treat each Silksong update as something meaningful rather than as a tiny trickle. While nothing beyond Sharpe and backer obligations is guaranteed, the language they use implies that DLC will be an opportunity to explore bolder ideas rather than a bland checklist.

What this means for players finishing Silksong today

For players who have just rolled credits on Silksong or are halfway through developing a favorite build, all of these hints come with very practical implications. First, there is every reason to keep a strong late game save handy, ideally with multiple wishes, crests and traversal tools unlocked, so that any DLC hooks can be accessed quickly once they arrive. If Sharpe and the assassins become a roaming threat, their entrance might sit behind specific progression milestones rather than at the very start of the game. Second, understanding how Hollow Knight gated its expansion material can help set expectations: some features slotted naturally into an existing run, while others made more sense for players who enjoyed starting over with fresh knowledge. Finally, knowing that Team Cherry is actively working on new material should make it easier to take a breath from constant speculation and simply enjoy what Pharloom already offers. The journey is complete enough to stand alone, yet clearly positioned as a foundation for more.

Could DLC ideas ever grow into another full Hollow Knight game

Silksong itself began life as DLC for Hollow Knight before ballooning into a separate sequel, so it is tempting to wonder whether history might repeat. The team is well aware of that narrative, and recent coverage underscores that they still see Silksong as one chapter in a larger universe rather than the final word. At the same time, their comments about future games point toward completely new worlds and genres rather than immediately greenlighting a third Hollow Knight. That makes it unlikely that any single Silksong expansion will quietly transform into a brand new full scale project in the way Hornet’s original DLC did. Instead, a more realistic picture is that DLC will close loops left open in the base game, round out backer promises like Sharpe and the Village of Lions and maybe experiment with structures that inform whatever the studio builds next. In that sense, expansions can act as a creative bridge without turning into another seven year epic.

Practical tips for getting your save file ready for future DLC

Looking ahead, there are concrete steps players can take so they are ready to jump straight into Silksong’s DLC the day it lands. Keeping at least one save just before the final stretch gives flexibility if new areas or questlines branch off late game hubs. Exploring every corner of Pharloom now, including quests that might feel optional, reduces the odds of missing NPCs or flags that future updates might check for in the background. Revisiting early trailers and promotional art can also be helpful, since some of those shots may line up with areas or enemies that did not make the final cut and could resurface later. On a more practical level, staying on top of patches, especially on consoles like Nintendo Switch 2, ensures that your build remains compatible with whatever structure Team Cherry chooses for new material. With Sharpe already framed as “waiting to arrive”, having a battle ready Hornet and a clean save is the best way to make sure that first encounter feels like a reward rather than homework.

Conclusion

Silksong’s story is moving into a new phase where the base adventure is complete, but the world around Hornet is still shifting behind the scenes. Team Cherry has confirmed that it is actively building on the foundation players have spent months exploring, and it has tied those plans directly to beloved yet missing elements like Steel Assassin Sharpe and the Village of Lions. By refusing to lock in dates while still speaking openly about scale, philosophy and specific obligations, the studio is trying to balance hard learned lessons from the sequel’s long development with a genuine desire to surprise players again. For fans, the message is simple but exciting: Pharloom is not finished with you yet. Sharpe and his companions are waiting in the wings, ideas are still being woven into the world, and the next time Hornet’s needle flashes, it may be inside an arena nobody has seen before.

FAQs
  • Did Team Cherry officially confirm Hollow Knight Silksong DLC
    • Yes, the studio has clearly stated in recent interviews that additional material for Hollow Knight Silksong is in active development. They describe this work as DLC and post launch updates rather than simple hotfixes, and link it both to backer obligations and to new ideas they want to explore beyond the base release.
  • Who is Steel Assassin Sharpe and why is everyone talking about them
    • Steel Assassin Sharpe is a backer created rival boss first revealed during Hollow Knight’s Kickstarter era and later showcased for Silksong. Sharpe was pitched as a deadly assassin bug leading a trio of hunters chasing Hornet, but does not appear in the shipped version of Silksong. Team Cherry now says Sharpe and the companions were set aside because the game was already packed, and that they are “waiting in the wings” for future reintroduction.
  • Will Silksong’s DLC be as large as Hollow Knight’s Godmaster expansion
    • Team Cherry has not promised any specific scale, but it has said that DLC could arrive at different sizes, including updates comparable to Godmaster. The developers acknowledge that many players would like pantheon style challenges and boss refights in Silksong, and they are openly considering that desire while planning future additions.
  • When can players realistically expect the first Hollow Knight Silksong DLC
    • No release window has been announced. The team emphasises that it does not want extra updates to take an “excessive” amount of time, yet it also avoids giving dates so it can keep following ideas without promising deadlines. For now, all that is certain is that work is underway and that more concrete news will arrive once plans are firm.
  • How should players prepare their Silksong save files for upcoming DLC
    • The safest approach is to keep at least one late game save with strong progression, so you can quickly access any new questlines or areas that branch from existing hubs. Exploring optional paths, finishing open wishlines and keeping the game fully updated on your platform will reduce friction when DLC arrives and help you step straight into new encounters, including any that involve Sharpe and the other assassins.
Sources
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