In an unexpected move that has caught the global gaming community by surprise, independent developer Team Cherry has released a significant maintenance patch for its 2017 masterpiece, Hollow Knight. Despite the studio’s primary focus shifting toward the post-launch support and upcoming expansions for its sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, this latest update targets a specific, high-stakes mechanical issue within the original game’s final encounter. The update, which arrives nearly nine years after the game’s initial debut, primarily addresses a lingering hitbox issue during the battle with The Radiance—the true final antagonist of the Hallownest saga—marking a rare instance of a developer returning to a legacy title to fine-tune frame-data for a boss fight that has challenged millions of players.
Technical Refinements to the Radiance Encounter
The centerpiece of this update is a surgical correction of the Radiance’s orb attack. For years, players attempting the "true ending" or the grueling "Pantheon of Hallownest" challenges have noted a discrepancy between the visual expiration of the Radiance’s light orbs and their active damage frames. The patch notes specifically state: "Fixed Radiance’s orb attack hitbox lingering slightly longer than intended if the orb expires in the air."
In high-level play, particularly within the Godhome content introduced in the 2018 Godmaster update, such frame-data inconsistencies can be the difference between a successful run and a total loss of progress. The Radiance’s orbs are homing projectiles that track the player across a series of floating platforms. Previously, the "hitbox"—the invisible zone that registers damage upon contact with the player—would remain active for several frames after the orb’s golden glow had faded or vanished. By synchronizing the visual cues with the technical damage data, Team Cherry has standardized the difficulty of the encounter, ensuring that player movement and timing are rewarded with mechanical consistency.
Beyond the Radiance fix, the patch includes a suite of minor bug resolutions and stability improvements. While these changes may seem incremental, they represent a commitment to the "evergreen" nature of Hollow Knight, a title that continues to see high engagement on platforms ranging from the Nintendo Switch to the PlayStation 5 and PC.
Localization Expansion and Global Accessibility
Another major component of the recent update is the expansion of the game’s localization suite. Team Cherry has officially integrated Traditional Chinese into the language options for the original Hollow Knight. This move follows a similar effort recently detailed for Hollow Knight: Silksong, where the developers worked extensively with professional translators to ensure "lore accuracy throughout."
The complexity of Hollow Knight’s narrative—told through cryptic item descriptions, environmental cues, and poetic dialogue—requires a high degree of nuance in translation. Team Cherry noted that for the Traditional Chinese update, they coordinated closely with the teams responsible for Simplified Chinese to ensure consistency regarding critical elements of the game’s mythology, such as the nature of the Void, the history of the Pale King, and the taxonomy of the various insect tribes. This attention to detail ensures that the thematic depth of the game remains intact across different linguistic barriers, further solidifying its status as a global phenomenon.
The Context of Hallownest: A Legacy of Iteration
To understand the significance of a patch arriving nine years post-launch, one must look at the history of Hollow Knight’s development. Originally funded via a modest Kickstarter campaign in 2014 that raised approximately $57,000 AUD, the game was the product of a small team based in Adelaide, Australia. Upon its release in early 2017, it quickly transcended its indie roots to become the definitive modern Metroidvania.
Throughout 2017 and 2018, Team Cherry released four major free content updates: Hidden Dreams, The Grimm Troupe, Lifeblood, and Godmaster. These updates transformed the game from a standard exploration title into a massive epic featuring hundreds of enemies and dozens of intricate boss fights. The fact that the developers are still monitoring player feedback regarding the Radiance’s hitbox in 2025 suggests a meticulous dedication to the "Gold Standard" of their debut title, even as they navigate the immense success of its successor.
Silksong and the Sea of Sorrow Expansion
The timing of the Hollow Knight patch coincides with a period of high activity regarding Hollow Knight: Silksong. Having already achieved critical acclaim—including a five-star review from Eurogamer which praised the game as "filled with revelations and genuine personality"—Silksong is now preparing for its first major expansion, titled Sea of Sorrow.
According to Team Cherry, Sea of Sorrow will be a nautically themed expansion provided as a free update to all owners of Silksong. This expansion is set to introduce entirely new biomes within the kingdom of Pharloom, along with new bosses, tools, and narrative threads that expand upon Hornet’s journey. The studio recently confirmed that they have concluded what they intend to be the final "significant" patch for the base Silksong game before shifting all resources toward the completion of Sea of Sorrow.
This "nautical" pivot represents a shift in aesthetic from the subterranean, fungal, and gothic environments of the original game and the vertical, industrial heights of Pharloom. The inclusion of new "tools"—the Silksong equivalent of the original game’s charms and abilities—suggests that the expansion will provide new mechanical layers to Hornet’s more agile and lethal combat style.
Chronology of Major Hollow Knight Updates
The journey from the original release to the current "Radiance Patch" reflects a decade of continuous support:
- February 2017: Hollow Knight launches on PC, establishing the core world of Hallownest.
- August 2017: Hidden Dreams update adds new bosses and the Dream Gate fast-travel mechanic.
- October 2017: The Grimm Troupe introduces a major side-quest, new charms, and the Nightmare King Grimm encounter.
- April 2018: Lifeblood focuses on technical optimizations, boss balancing, and a new boss (Hive Knight).
- August 2018: Godmaster concludes the Hallownest saga with the Godhome area and the most difficult challenges in the game.
- 2019–2024: Development and eventual release of Hollow Knight: Silksong.
- 2025 (Current): Surprise hitbox patch for the original game and the announcement of the Sea of Sorrow expansion for the sequel.
Implications for the Speedrunning and Challenge Community
The fix to the Radiance hitbox is particularly impactful for the speedrunning community and the "hitless" challenge community. In these circles, players attempt to finish the game as fast as possible or without taking a single point of damage. The "Absolute Radiance"—an even more difficult version of the boss found at the end of the Pantheon of Hallownest—is often the "run-killer" for many elite players.
A lingering hitbox that exists after a projectile has visually disappeared is often categorized as "jank" or "phantom damage." By removing this inconsistency, Team Cherry has effectively "cleaned up" the highest tier of play. While it does not necessarily make the fight easier, it makes the fight fairer, ensuring that any damage taken is the result of player error rather than technical misalignment. This level of precision is vital for a game that has maintained a top-tier competitive presence for nearly a decade.
The Broader Impact on the Indie Industry
Team Cherry’s decision to patch a nine-year-old game while managing a massive sequel expansion serves as a case study in long-term brand management and community goodwill. In an industry often criticized for "planned obsolescence" or the abandonment of older titles in favor of new live-service models, the Adelaide-based studio has maintained a philosophy of perfectionism.
This update reinforces the idea that Hollow Knight is not just a product, but a living work of art that the creators intend to keep in peak condition indefinitely. For new players discovering the game on the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S, the experience remains as polished and responsive as it was on day one, if not more so.
As fans look forward to the Sea of Sorrow expansion later this year, the "Radiance Patch" serves as a reminder of the foundation upon which Team Cherry’s success was built. Whether exploring the decaying ruins of Hallownest or the vibrant, dangerous heights of Pharloom, players can expect a level of mechanical integrity that has become the studio’s hallmark. With the addition of Traditional Chinese and the refinement of end-game mechanics, Hollow Knight continues to stand as a monumental achievement in the Metroidvania genre, proving that even a decade later, there is always room to sharpen the nail.
