October DealsAmazon USOctober deal check: compare before you payAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.Check DealsPC HealthRecommendedCrashes, freezes, slowdowns? Check your PC nowSpot repairable issues before they interrupt work.Check PCOctober DealsAmazon USDeal season is back - check today's better picksAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.See Picks×
Skip to content
VGSources
Blog

Did Pirates Really Buy Hollow Knight: Silksong? What the Reports Show

Piracy-community Reddit users urged legitimate purchases of Hollow Knight: Silksong, but launch-day reports offer anecdotes—not verified transactions or proof it was the first game to prompt that response.
Length3 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Some people in piracy-related Reddit discussions said they would buy Hollow Knight: Silksong, and some urged others to do the same. That made the launch-day conversation unusually pro-purchase—but the reports document anecdotes, not verified sales or a measurable shift in pirate behavior. They do not establish that this was the first game ever to prompt such a reaction.

What happened around Silksong’s launch?

Hollow Knight: Silksong launched on September 4, 2025. Launch-day reporting said unauthorized copies appeared soon after release. At the same time, users in the Piracy subreddit discussed buying the game legitimately, with some encouraging others to pay for it.

PC Gamer described the subreddit as divided but unusually inclined to recommend buying the game. GamesRadar characterized the discussion as interesting but anecdotal, and stressed that the sample was very small. The coverage is about the tone of one online discussion—not a count of purchases.

Did pirates actually buy Silksong?

Some commenters said they had bought the game or planned to. Those statements are self-reports: the articles do not independently verify transactions, and they do not establish whether a commenter had pirated the game before purchasing.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
#1 Best Overall
Hollow Knight: Silksong Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]
  • Discover the fallen insect kingdom of Pharloom! Explore mossy grottos, gilded cities and misted moors as you ascend to the shining citadel at the top of the world.
  • Engage in lethal acrobatic action! Wield a huge suite of deadly moves as you dance between foes in swift, beautiful combat.
  • Craft powerful tools! Master an ever-expanding arsenal of weapons, traps, and mechanisms to vanquish your enemies and explore new heights.
  • Solve shocking quests! Hunt down rare beasts and solve ancient mysteries to grant the wishes of the downtrodden and restore the kingdom’s hope.
  • Face over 200 ferocious foes! Beasts and hunters, monsters and knights. Defeat them all with bravery and skill!

PC Gamer quoted Reddit user RandoT, who said they had not bought a full-priced game on launch day in more than ten years with their Steam account, then wrote: “It was Team Cherry that made me break my ‘vow’ to always buy on discount.” That is one individual’s account, not evidence of a broader conversion trend.

Neither report provides a representative survey, verified transaction data, or a figure for how many people who accessed unauthorized copies later paid for the game. The reported subreddit membership—2.4 million at the time of the September 2025 coverage—describes the community’s size, not how many people saw the discussion, played Silksong, or bought it.

Rank #2
Hollow Knight: Silksong | Standard Edition | Xbox Digital
  • Hollow Knight: Silksong is the epic sequel to Hollow Knight, the award winning action-adventure.
  • Journey to all-new lands, discover new powers, battle vast hordes of bugs and beasts and uncover secrets tied to your nature and your past.

Why did commenters say they were willing to pay?

Contemporaneous coverage reported several reasons raised by commenters. They are explanations people gave, not proven causes of purchases.

  • The launch price: PC Gamer and GamesRadar reported a $20 launch price in 2025. That is a historical launch figure, not a current price quote.
  • Support for Team Cherry: Some commenters framed buying the game as a way to support its developer. PC Gamer quoted Reddit user No-Shape6053: “This is a time where if we can afford to support them, we should.”
  • Team Cherry’s reputation and perceived relationship with fans: Commenters expressed goodwill toward the studio and its treatment of fans; this reflects their views, not an independently demonstrated explanation for buying.
  • DRM-free availability on PC: Coverage identified a DRM-free PC version as part of the discussion. GamesRadar also quoted Reddit user SRETO05SRB speculating that the game had few anti-piracy measures and that happy customers usually would not pirate. That is a commenter’s opinion, not a technical finding or evidence that DRM-free distribution reduces piracy.
  • A backer entitlement: Coverage noted that original Hollow Knight backers were entitled to the game for free. This applied to that group and does not mean the game was generally free.

Does “for the first time ever” hold up?

No historical absolute is established by the cited reporting. The phrase works as a personal impression or headline hook: reporters noticed unusually visible encouragement to buy in this discussion. A small set of Reddit comments cannot show that no other game has ever prompted a similar response, or that pirates generally bought Silksong.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Rank #3
Hollow Knight (Nintendo Switch)
  • Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
  • Tightly tuned 2D controls. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
  • Explore a vast interconnected world of forgotten highways, overgrown wilds and ruined cities.
  • Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
  • Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!.Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favourites and make your journey unique!.An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation..

The strongest supported conclusion is narrower: during the game’s September 2025 launch, some users in a piracy-focused Reddit community urged legitimate purchases, and some said they would pay. The coverage does not show how common that choice was among pirates or players.

Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

What the reports can—and cannot—tell you

  • Reported: Unauthorized copies appeared shortly after launch, while some piracy-community users advocated buying the game.
  • Attributed reasons: Commenters cited price, support for Team Cherry, goodwill toward the studio, DRM-free availability, and the backer entitlement.
  • Not measured: A pirate-to-buyer conversion rate, the number of commenters who completed a purchase, or the views of pirates and players as a whole.
  • Not demonstrated: That low prices or DRM-free distribution caused piracy to fall, or that this was the first such case in gaming history.

For someone deciding how to get the game, the reports describe a historical launch price and a DRM-free PC option, but they do not provide a current comparison of storefront prices or purchase terms. They capture what a handful of commenters said—not a general rule about piracy or a verified account of their transactions.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 3
Hollow Knight (Nintendo Switch)
Hollow Knight (Nintendo Switch)
Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
$38.49
Bestseller No. 4
Hollow Knight - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]
Hollow Knight - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]
Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
$14.99
Rank #4
Hollow Knight - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]
  • Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
  • Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
  • Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!
  • Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favorites and make your journey unique!
  • An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

More quests from Patch Notes

  1. How To Create Custom Stickers & Shoutouts In Monster Hunter WildsMonster Hunter WildsBlog20min
  2. How to Get XL Gogoat in Pokemon Legends Z-A (An Extra-Large Gogoat)Pokemon Legends Z-ABlog20min
  3. How to Get Rotting Lightbringer in Diablo 4Diablo 4Blog17min
Recommended PC Tool
Recommended PC Tool
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They SpreadFree repair scan
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You DownFree scan - exact matches

Two free Windows tools

One Free Minute Could Fix That PC

Before you go - each of these free tools takes about a minute and tackles what quietly slows a Windows PC down.

Special offer. View Outbyte info, uninstall instructions, EULA, and Privacy Policy.