One of 2025’s hidden gems has its director openly calling the launch of Silksong “inconsiderate” for dropping “too soon.” Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, creative director of Hell is Us, believes Team Cherry’s move disrupted games that had been locked into their September dates for months.

The unexpected arrival of Hollow Knight: Silksong continues to stir discussion more than a week later, this time from France. Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, the creative mind behind Rogue Factor’s Hell is Us, described Team Cherry’s release strategy as inconsiderate, arguing that it directly impacted their game’s sales performance.

Speaking on Skill Up’s Friends Per Second podcast, he explained that Hell is Us had its release date secured long before Silksong was announced at Gamescom 2025, but the two titles ultimately landed on the same day. For Jacques-Belletête, the media frenzy around the long-awaited metroidvania — which he even dubbed “the GTA 6 of indies” — was a blow they had not anticipated.

He noted that after the announcement, Rogue Factor and publisher Nacon debated postponing Hell is Us, but pushing the launch would have triggered messy preorder refunds. While not the only factor, this complication contributed to the decision to stick with the original schedule.

Silksong Cast a Shadow Over the Launch of Hell is Us

Jacques-Belletête admitted that Silksong hurt Hell is Us’s debut, though he offered no hard numbers. “I don’t have precise figures yet, but it definitely did,” he conceded. He also highlighted the near-impossible task of carving out space in today’s crowded market, where major titles release practically every week.

In closing, he lamented the disappearance of “quiet release windows” that once existed in the summer months fifteen years ago. “Nowadays, it’s constant madness,” he said. Meanwhile, other games such as Demonschool and Baby Steps opted to shift their schedules to avoid colliding with Silksong, further proof of the overwhelming influence Team Cherry’s highly anticipated game wields in the indie scene.

Source: 3djuegos