The lead developer of Hell is Us described the unexpected announcement of the release date for Hollow Knight: Silksong as "a little callous."

Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, the creative director of Hell is Us, found Team Cherry's unexpected announcement of Hollow Knight: Silksong’s release date, just two weeks before launch, "a little callous." The discussion took place on Skill Up's Friends Per Second podcast, as covered by This Week in Videogames. Jacques-Belletête talked about the challenge of launching Hell is Us on September 4, 2025, a day shared with Silksong's release, with very little forewarning.

Describing the moment of realization, Jacques-Belletête stated that everyone quickly communicated with Nacon, their publisher, once Team Cherry released a surprise trailer on August 21, 2025, revealing Silksong's launch date. He mentioned that there are no regulations preventing what Team Cherry did and that the situation did not warrant a debate on fairness. However, he admitted that such a significant release drop could be considered somewhat audacious, likening it to being an indie game equated to "the GTA 6 of the scene."

Initially announced in April 2022, Hell is Us was planned for a year after its announcement but was delayed until 2025, with the final date disclosed during Sony's State of Play in February 2025. Despite the competition, Rogue Factor opted to retain the release date, a decision Jacques-Belletête stood by, highlighting that altering it would have been a significant undertaking, especially considering the necessity to manage pre-orders.

Jacques-Belletête disclosed that while the commitment to the original date was motivated in part by logistic reasons, they also believed in facing the challenge directly. Conversations with the publisher were extensive during this time. After its launch, Hollow Knight: Silksong reached over half a million concurrent players, contrasting with Hell is Us, which peaked at 4,431 players according to SteamDB.

Jacques-Belletête acknowledged that Silksong likely influenced Hell is Us' reception, though definitive metrics weren't available. However, he also attributed the challenging launch period to other titles, such as Bloober Team's Cronos: The New Dawn, which released a day later. The competitive release schedule made it difficult to find a "quiet" launch window, a shift from years past when certain times of the year were less congested.