Hollow Knight came out last year on PC, then earlier this year on Switch, before finally coming out a few weeks ago on PS4 and Xbox One as well, bringing what may be the best Metroidvania game of all time to everyone. But the game was originally due out in 2015, and it was supposed to come to PC and Wii U—it was only delays that pushed its release so far out, and which led to the Wii U version never materializing.
Speaking to Game Informer, Hollow Knight Designer and Co-Director William Pellen said that Team Cherry had actively wanted the game to be on Wii U, and had even managed to get it running on the system, but as its release began to grow closer, it was clear that the Wii U didn’t have much of a future, and was quickly getting superceded by the Switch.
“We had done a fair bit of preliminary testing and it was running [on Wii U] with most of the basic features, but performance would still have required further work,” he said. “It was hard because we loved the Wii U and we’d promised to get the game on there. But looking at the time frame, the Switch was fast becoming the main Nintendo console and our backers were already moving over. When we made the change, backers were excited for the shift and Nintendo was tremendously supportive through the process.”
In the end, of course, it turned out to be for the best. On the Switch, the game has been a tremendous success, selling 250,000 copies within a week of launch, and staying near the top of the eShop charts ever since. If you have not yet played Hollow Knight, make sure to do so now—it’s out, as I mentioned, on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
