Hollow Knight: Silksong now carries formal age classifications on official storefronts ahead of its September 4, 2025, launch. The PlayStation store listing shows an ESRB rating of Everyone 10+ with the content descriptors “Fantasy Violence” and “Mild Blood,” and also confirms the release date and platform details on PS4 and PS5 on its product page. In Europe, Nintendo’s UK eShop page lists a PEGI 7 rating and reflects the same September date in day/month format on the product page.

What those ratings actually cover

The ESRB’s Everyone 10+ label is intended for players 10 and older and allows for stylized or less intense depictions of combat. The descriptors shown for Silksong—“Fantasy Violence” and “Mild Blood”—signal animated combat against non-realistic creatures and limited, non-graphic blood effects. You can read how ESRB categories and descriptors work in the board’s ratings guide.

PEGI 7 broadly tracks with mild, non-realistic violence and may include some scenes or sounds that could be frightening to younger children. PEGI and ESRB aren’t one-to-one, and differences in wording or thresholds between systems often lead to small variances like E10+ versus 7.

Where it stands now

  • United States/Canada: ESRB Everyone 10+, with “Fantasy Violence” and “Mild Blood” (visible on the PlayStation store listing).
  • Europe/UK: PEGI 7 (visible on the Nintendo UK eShop listing).

It’s normal for ratings badges to appear on storefronts before (or ahead of changes to) centralized public databases, and it’s also common for regional product pages to update on slightly different timelines.

Why regions differ

Different classification bodies use their own age bands, descriptors, and criteria. ESRB (North America) and PEGI (most of Europe) review the same underlying material but apply regional standards. The result: the same game can show E10+ in one region and 7 in another, both signaling broadly “mild” content pitched at older children and up. Other territories (like USK in Germany, ACB in Australia, or national boards elsewhere) may land on adjacent age bands for the same content.

How ratings get set

Publishers submit materials—like a questionnaire and representative gameplay footage—for review by a ratings board. The goal is to capture the most extreme content likely to affect the classification and to surface any interactive elements that could impact the label (for example, online features). ESRB outlines how categories and content descriptors are assigned in its public guide, while the UK’s authority that administers PEGI details its approach in a ratings process overview.

Why it matters: ratings tend to arrive late in development because developers need to be confident about the content being evaluated. That said, a rating doesn’t lock in a release date on its own, and small descriptor or regional label tweaks can happen as final builds and storefronts are readied.

What parents should know

  • Content: Stylized combat against fantastical enemies; ESRB flags “Fantasy Violence” and “Mild Blood.”
  • Age labels: ESRB Everyone 10+ (North America); PEGI 7 (Europe/UK).
  • Play style: Single-player, offline play supported; PS4/PS5 versions listed.
  • Languages: Multiple language options are indicated on regional storefronts.

The bottom line

Silksong’s official age badges line up with what you’d expect from a stylized action-platformer aimed at older children and teens: mild, non-realistic violence with occasional light blood effects. The E10+ versus PEGI 7 split is a standard artifact of regional criteria, not a meaningful difference in tone. If you want the authoritative snapshot for your platform and region, check the rating panel on the store listing you’ll purchase from and, for definitions, refer to the ESRB ratings guide or the UK’s ratings process overview.