MATTER OF TIMING

SILKSONG highlights the difficulty of picking a release date and the risks in delays

- Wes Fenlon

Hollow Knight: Silksong isn't Grand Theft Auto VI, but the number of games that scurried away from its September 4 release date, announced as a surprise just two weeks ahead of time, gave it the air of a game nothing could compete with. But what does competing mean when the game in question is a 2D platformer sequel with a cult-like following?

Of the delayed games, you can easily see why a Metroidvania sequel like Aeterna Lucis would be sweating. But what about the games that are less obviously aimed at the same exact players? Shouldn't they be fine even if Silksong's a mega hit, considering there are more PC gamers than ever?

"You can go to the likes of GameDiscoverCo and look at data for past high-performing titles with similar release dates until your corneas crumple to try and discern the material effects of 'audience overlap,'" says Brian Kwek, the head of tactical RPG Demonschool's indie publisher Ysbryd Games. Demonschool was delayed to November 19 to give it a better shot at success.

"With Demonschool and Silksong both being multi-platform simultaneous releases, we have to consider more than 'just' the Steam algorithm, so this ultimately requires us to consider the impact of Silksong on the console gamer audience and how they're hearing about games like Demonschool through broader coverage from content creators and press," Kwek says. Streamers are a key avenue for indie games like Demonschool to get noticed, and as with other Ysbryd-published games such as World of Horror, it's more likely to be played by 'variety' streamers who bounce between games. And those streamers are likely to be focused on the higher-profile game during its launch week.