Hollow Knight: Silksong Broke the Internet… Which Games Did It Before, and Is GTA 6 Next?
When Hollow Knight: Silksong launched on September 4, the shockwave shook the giants of the gaming industry. Steam, the Xbox Store, and the Nintendo eShop all collapsed under the simultaneous assault of millions of players rushing to download Team Cherry’s latest masterpiece. But this spectacular phenomenon is not new to the gaming world. Let’s look back at past launches that brought the global digital infrastructure to its knees.
Hollow Knight: Silksong had been anticipated for years, to the point of becoming one of the most wishlisted titles on Steam. Its surprise arrival, announced only weeks before release, turned waiting into a tidal wave on launch day, last Thursday. The phenomenon was unprecedented in scale: Steam outright collapsed under the weight of simultaneous downloads, the Xbox Store’s game page mysteriously vanished, and even the Nintendo eShop buckled under the pressure. Countless players found themselves locked out, unable to download the game they had been yearning for. A frustrating spectacle, but a revealing one: Silksong wasn’t just a critical and commercial triumph—it also became a symbol of the colossal impact a digital-only release can have in today’s gaming landscape.
Image credit: Team Cherry
Historic precedents that shaped the industry
As impressive as the Silksong phenomenon is, this isn’t the first time a video game has wreaked havoc on servers worldwide. Here’s a look at past releases that left their mark by breaking the internet.
Diablo III (2012) will forever be infamous for its dreaded “Error 37.” On launch day, Blizzard’s servers, overwhelmed by an enormous influx of players, made connecting nearly impossible. It took several days before things finally stabilized.
Grand Theft Auto V on PC (2015) exploded onto the scene. Rockstar’s juggernaut overloaded download servers, blocking millions of players from accessing the game on day one. The launch drew even more scrutiny as the PC version had been delayed almost two years after the console release.
Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), despite its rocky reception, shattered download records. GOG.com, CD Projekt’s platform, slowed to a crawl, while Steam struggled with endless download times due to the flood of players.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) was no exception. At launch, both Battle.net and Steam servers showed glaring weaknesses, forcing many players to wait for hours before installing Activision’s blockbuster.
Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023) also caused a massive digital traffic jam. From early access in August, Steam temporarily buckled under the rush of fans. The chaos repeated during the console release, proving once again that demand for major titles can literally paralyze infrastructure.
Every time, the story plays out the same way: unbearable anticipation, an explosive launch, and servers that simply cannot keep up.
GTA 6: the looming threat to global infrastructure
If Hollow Knight Silksong managed to cripple major gaming platforms, what will happen when Grand Theft Auto 6 finally arrives? This question now haunts the industry—and with good reason. Rockstar’s next installment may well be the ultimate tsunami.
Unlike Silksong, which kept marketing to a minimum with a single trailer and a surprise announcement, GTA 6 is backed by an unprecedented promotional machine. The game already dominates every conversation about the future of gaming, and its expected release in May has generated global anticipation on a scale rarely seen before.
The Silksong phenomenon may only be a taste of what’s to come. Where Team Cherry’s game drew over 500,000 concurrent players on Steam, GTA 6 could easily multiply that number tenfold—or more. With current infrastructure already strained by less ambitious titles, will it withstand such a storm? Some players are already planning workarounds in case of a launch-day crash, such as buying keys from specialized platforms like Allshop. One thing is clear: the industry had better brace itself for the unthinkable.
While we wait to see whether GTA 6 will confirm fears of a digital cataclysm, why not relive the thrill of Hollow Knight: Silksong’s launch? Watch or rewatch its official trailer—a true blend of magic and tension—that set the community on fire long before release day.
