Is Hollow Knight: Silksong on Xbox Game Pass? Team Cherry's sequel is finally out, and taking over the internet — here's what you need to know

A gameplay screenshot of a boss fight in Hollow Knight: Silksong.
An official screenshot of a boss fight in Hollow Knight: Silksong in which Hornet battles a gigantic bug enemy. (Image credit: Team Cherry)

Is Hollow Knight: Silksong on Xbox Game Pass?

Yes, Hollow Knight: Silksong is available to play through Xbox Game Pass! Specifically, anyone using either Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass can play Team Cherry's long-awaited Metroidvania sequel on Xbox or PC or on PC, respectively. You cannot play it on the console specific Xbox Game Pass Standard tier, however.


Silksong is out now on Xbox Game Pass!

Hollow Knight: Silksong - Release Trailer - YouTube Hollow Knight: Silksong - Release Trailer - YouTube
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No, you're not dreaming — we do, in fact, live in the reality where Hollow Knight: Silksong, Team Cherry's frenziedly anticipated Metroidvania platformer, has actually come out. Following the sudden and unexpected announcement of its release date in August, Silksong officially launched across Xbox, Windows PC, PlayStation, Switch, Linux, and macOS platforms on September 4 over six years since its announcement in 2019.

Unsurprisingly, Silksong quickly took the Steam charts by storm, surpassing the concurrent player count peak of the recent Battlefield 6 Open Beta that was extremely popular in its own right and establishing itself as one of 2025's biggest games. This doesn't account for how it's performing on other platforms, though I'm sure it's blowing up on them, too.

On top of that, Silksong is also enjoying an incredibly positive reception in terms of early reviews; though there aren't reviews from critics yet since early copies of the Hollow Knight sequel weren't provided to media and creators, it has an "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating on Steam from 22,026 user reviews (at the time of writing) — 95% of which give it a blue thumbs up.

Indeed, it's wholly accurate to say that Hollow Knight: Silksong is blowing up the internet right now, and with that in mind, I'm not surprised that tons of gamers are wondering if you have the option of playing it through Xbox Game Pass. The Microsoft gaming service gives its members access to hundreds of games every month in exchange for a subscription fee, and sometimes, new games launch with availability in the program.

Hollow Knight's stylized Gothic art direction can often be as dark and gloomy as it is vibrant and colorful, giving it a visual character that stands out. (Image credit: Team Cherry)

If you're hoping to experience Silksong that way, I have good news — Team Cherry's hit launched onto Xbox Game Pass, and is available to play on Xbox and PC through the $19.99/month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, or just on Xbox on PC with the $11.99 PC Game Pass. Sadly, it's not on the $14.99 console-specific Xbox Game Pass Standard tier, as it doesn't give access to new releases. It could come to that version of Game Pass at some point in the future, though.

Between the two tiers that do give you access to Silksong, your best overall option is Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. While PC Game Pass is less expensive, Ultimate allows you to play the game on both Xbox and PC, with full Xbox Play Anywhere support ensuring you can take advantage of cross-progression. With Ultimate, you can also stream the game with Xbox Cloud Gaming.

At its standard cost, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is $19.99/month, but you can actually get one-month subscriptions for just $13.49 at Loaded (formerly CDKeys) thanks to a hot deal. By far, this is the most affordable way to sign up, especially if you're only planning to subscribe temporarily.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
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Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: was $19.99 now $13.49 at loaded.com

Subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and play day one Xbox games whichever way you'd like, on Xbox consoles, PC, or even through the Cloud on a wide range of devices. Going with this tier means you never miss out on anything coming to the service.

Also at: Amazon | Best Buy

How else can you play Hollow Knight: Silksong?

Hollow Knight: Silksong may be on Game Pass, but you can always buy it directly if you'd prefer to play it that way, too. (Image credit: Team Cherry)

Hollow Knight: Silksong may be available to play on Xbox Game Pass, but it's not like you have to use it to jump into Team Cherry's much-anticipated sequel. In fact, one of the most attractive things about the game is that it's incredibly affordable, making it less of a financial burden to purchase than many other new titles are.

While the developers could have very reasonably justified an MSRP of $30 or even $40, Team Cherry instead settled on $19.99 for Silksong — the same price as one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. That means if you decide to buy it fully on Xbox or PC or have to if you're on one of the game's other platforms, it won't be too taxing on your wallet.

Brendan Lowry
Contributor, Gaming

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you'll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he's not writing or gaming, there's a good chance he's either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once. Follow him on X (Twitter).

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