Hollow Knight: Silksong is barely out of its launch window and Team Cherry is already committing to a substantial expansion. The studio has announced Hollow Knight: Silksong – Sea of Sorrow, a free add-on planned for 2026 that pushes Hornet’s journey out across and beneath a storm‑lashed ocean.
What Sea of Sorrow adds to Silksong
Sea of Sorrow is described as a “nautically themed expansion” for Silksong. Team Cherry is framing it as the first “big” post‑launch addition rather than a minor content pack.
The expansion will include:
- New areas set around the “salt‑stricken seas,” implying an undersea or coastal region separate from the existing kingdom.
- New bosses, continuing the series’ focus on tightly designed, pattern‑driven encounters.
- New tools for Hornet, which in Silksong typically means additional mobility or combat options that plug into the game’s interconnected map.
All of this will be bundled into the base game at no extra cost. Anyone who owns Silksong will be able to download Sea of Sorrow for free once it launches.
Release timing and what’s still under wraps
Team Cherry is targeting a 2026 release window for Sea of Sorrow. There’s no narrower date than “next year,” and the studio is deliberately holding most design specifics back for now.
The plan is to share more detailed information shortly before Sea of Sorrow becomes available. That likely includes where the expansion hooks into existing saves, how progression works relative to the main three‑act structure, and how completion percentages will change for players who already have 100% files.
For now, the only concrete look at the expansion is a short teaser trailer, which sets the tone with an ominous sea, lightning, and a mysterious spherical structure that looks like it could serve as transport or a focal point of the new area.
Silksong’s launch year and why DLC is arriving quickly
Silksong released on September 4, 2025 and immediately overwhelmed multiple storefronts as players rushed to download it. The game went on to sell more than seven million copies within three months, not including players accessing it through Xbox Game Pass.
That surge was matched by strong reception. Silksong picked up five nominations at The Game Awards 2025, including Game of the Year, and took home the award for Best Action Adventure Game. For a three‑person studio, that level of commercial and critical success matters: it gives Team Cherry room to support Silksong in a way that echoes Hollow Knight’s rapid run of post‑launch DLC between 2017 and 2018.
The announcement of Sea of Sorrow this soon after release signals that the studio is treating Silksong as a platform it can expand, rather than as a one‑and‑done sequel.
Hollow Knight is being modernized alongside Silksong
Sea of Sorrow is only half of Team Cherry’s current roadmap. The studio is also revisiting the original Hollow Knight with both platform‑specific and broad quality‑of‑life upgrades.
Hollow Knight Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
An updated version of Hollow Knight is in development for Nintendo’s next‑generation handheld, titled Hollow Knight Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. It is designed to match the technical profile Silksong enjoys on that hardware.
The Switch 2 edition will bring:
- High frame‑rate modes beyond the original Switch’s 60 fps target.
- Higher resolutions to better suit the new system’s display and docked output.
- Additional graphical effects that push the original game closer to Silksong’s richer presentation.
Anyone who owns Hollow Knight on Nintendo Switch will be able to download the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition for free when it launches in 2026. The upgrade functions as a carry‑forward entitlement rather than a separate paid SKU.
Updates coming to all existing Hollow Knight platforms
The Switch 2 project is driving an update pass on every current version of Hollow Knight, not just Nintendo’s systems. Team Cherry plans to roll out new features and bug fixes across platforms so the older game doesn’t feel stranded on outdated tech.
On PC, a public beta of these changes is already live on Steam and GOG. The most visible additions are new aspect ratio options:
- Full 16:10 support, which maps cleanly to devices like the Steam Deck and many laptop displays.
- Full 21:9 support for ultrawide monitors, avoiding letterboxing and stretching hacks.
There are also smaller fixes and adjustments, including a long‑requested behavior change where the game now correctly pauses while you are in the inventory menu. More tweaks are expected before the update leaves beta and ships as a stable patch next year.
On consoles, these improvements will arrive as standard updates through each platform’s patching system. While specific resolutions and frame‑rate targets have not been detailed for PlayStation or Xbox, the stated goal is to bring every platform’s version of Hollow Knight closer to the experience players get on newer hardware.
How to try the Hollow Knight PC beta
On PC, you can opt into the Hollow Knight beta branch to test the new aspect ratios and fixes ahead of the full 2026 rollout.
Step 1: Open Steam, go to your Library, and locate Hollow Knight in your game list.
Step 2: Right‑click Hollow Knight, choose Properties, then select the Betas tab.
Step 3: Use the dropdown to select the public beta branch name provided in the game’s community or patch notes, then close the window and allow Steam to download the beta build.
Step 4: Launch Hollow Knight and check the video settings; 16:10 and 21:9 resolutions should now be available if your display supports them.
On GOG Galaxy, the process is similar: you switch the game’s channel to the public beta in its settings and download the updated build.
New Silksong merch and ongoing support
To mark Silksong’s release and the announcement of Sea of Sorrow, Team Cherry is collaborating with Studio Tyto and Fangamer on a line of mini‑figurines. The set includes Hornet, several allies, and notable rivals, styled to match Silksong’s sharper, more ornate character designs.
The figures are available for preorder individually or as a complete set through Fangamer’s Hollow Knight: Silksong collection. They sit alongside apparel and other merchandise themed around the sequel.
The studio also notes that both Hollow Knight and Silksong will feature in various digital storefront sales over the holiday period, making it easier to recommend the series to new players ahead of next year’s updates.
For a three‑person team, promising a free Silksong expansion, a modernized Hollow Knight across all platforms, and a full Switch 2 upgrade in the same year is ambitious. The roadmap extends the life of both games without fragmenting the audience behind paid add‑ons, and it suggests that the world of Hollow Knight will remain an active project rather than a completed duology.
