Silksong Awakens and Gamescom Ignites: A Week in Gaming
The long silence has broken. After six years of anticipation, memes, and a dedicated subreddit culture built on hope and clown makeup, Team Cherry has finally announced a release date for Hollow Knight: Silksong. The sequel is set to arrive on September 4, 2025. This announcement marks the end of an era for the game’s passionate online community, which had cultivated a unique space of shared anticipation and elaborate role-playing jokes while waiting for news. For a moment longer, the bizarre and beautiful madness of pure possibility remains before the game becomes a reality.
This news capped off a massive week that began with Gamescom 2025 and its Opening Night Live showcase. The event was packed with reveals and updates. Highlights included the announcement of Denshattack, a stylish game blending Tony Hawk-style action with trains and anime flair. A new Battlestar Galactica game was revealed, promising to finally deliver a worthy adaptation. The action-packed Absolum got an October 9 release date, and the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is scheduled for November 14.
Other notable announcements included an anime adaptation of FromSoftware’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a teaser for Fallout season two with a December 17 release date, and the next title from Game Science Studio, Black Myth: Zhong Kui. Cult of the Lamb also revealed its next DLC, Woolhaven, for early 2026. In a significant platform expansion, it was confirmed that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be coming to the Nintendo Switch 2.
On the hardware front, Microsoft announced that its ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X handhelds will be available on October 16. While official pricing is still under wraps, listings have suggested prices around $550 and $900 respectively. Microsoft also introduced its Handheld Compatibility Program, an initiative to optimize games for portable play and inform users about performance, similar to Steam’s verification system.
In less welcome news, Sony announced a price increase for all PS5 models, citing a challenging economic environment. The standard model will now cost $550, the digital edition $500, and the PS5 Pro $750. This follows similar moves by other console manufacturers and is a frustrating shift for consumers accustomed to prices dropping later in a console’s life cycle.
Significant studio news emerged as well. Rod Fergusson, known for his work on Gears of War and Diablo, has left Blizzard to take charge of the long-in-development BioShock 4 at Cloud Chamber. This leadership change was accompanied by reports of layoffs affecting 80 people at the studio, signaling a major restructuring for the project.
Meanwhile, at Blizzard, the Story and Franchise Development team, responsible for cinematics and narrative in games like Overwatch and World of Warcraft, has voted to unionize. This represents the fourth unionization effort within Microsoft’s gaming divisions.
A concerning situation continues to develop around Steam’s platform. Valve’s new policies, which pressure developers to remove adult content to comply with payment processors, have escalated. PayPal has now terminated its service with Steam in numerous countries, restricting payment options for many users. This has already led to games being wrongfully removed, highlighting the growing issue of financial censorship in digital storefronts.
Finally, Roblox is implementing major changes to its user-generated content rules following a wave of child-safety lawsuits. The platform will now restrict unrated experiences to developers only, moving away from the previous system that made them available to all users over 13. These changes are part of a broader effort to increase safety on the platform.