Team Cherry

Team Cherry
Name	Team Cherry
Industry	Video games
Founded	2010
Headquarters	Adelaide, South Australia
Key people	Ari Gibson, William Pellen, Jack Vine
Notable games	Hollow Knight, Hollow Knight: Silksong

Team Cherry is an independent video game development studio based in Adelaide and known principally for the action-adventure title Hollow Knight and its follow-up project Hollow Knight: Silksong. Formed by alumni of small-scale indie game projects and creative collaborations, the studio rose from regional Australian video game development beginnings to international prominence via digital distribution on platforms such as Steam and Nintendo eShop. The team’s work has intersected with festivals, publishers, and communities across the game development ecosystem, influencing contemporaries in the metroidvania and platform game genres.

History

Team founders met amid the local Adelaide game development scene and online game jam events, collaborating on prototypes and art experiments that led to the 2015 announcement of Hollow Knight. Early traction came through crowdfunding discussions, community support on Trello-style development updates, and positive coverage from outlets like IGN and GameSpot. After a successful 2017 release on Windows, macOS and Linux, Team Cherry expanded its reach with ports to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, while continuing work on a new title announced as Hollow Knight: Silksong. The studio’s trajectory included participation in events such as PAX expos and showcases at The Game Awards, which facilitated partnerships with distribution platforms and peers in the indie game community.

Members

Core creative leads include artists and designers from the original trio: Ari Gibson (art direction), William Pellen (programming), and Jack Vine (music composition and production). The studio has collaborated with additional contributors for level design, animation, sound engineering, community management, and localization, drawing talent from South Australia, international freelance circles, and alumni of other studios such as those behind Dust: An Elysian Tail and Shovel Knight-adjacent teams. Team Cherry’s membership has intersected with composers and voice actors who have credits on video game soundtrack releases and live performances at events like PAX Australia.

Games

Team Cherry’s principal released title, Hollow Knight (2017), is a single-player metroidvania action-adventure featuring exploration of interconnected regions, boss encounters, and collectible upgrades. The studio announced Hollow Knight: Silksong as a successor focusing on a new playable character and expanded traversal mechanics; the project has been showcased in developer diaries and trailers at showcases including Nintendo Direct presentations and Guerrilla Collective streams. Team Cherry has also released updates and expansions for existing titles, including major content packs that introduced new areas, mechanics, and accessibility features, coordinated with patch notes and community feedback channels such as Reddit and Discord.

Development and Design

The studio adopts a handmade aesthetic combining 2D hand-drawn art with layered parallax backgrounds influenced by European animation traditions and dark fantasy literature, drawing compositional inspiration from works showcased at festivals like Animafest Zagreb and institutions such as the National Film and Sound Archive. Programming practices emphasize optimization for multiple platforms including Xbox Live services and Nintendo Switch Online compatibility, while the design philosophy references mechanics from classics like Castlevania and Metroid alongside contemporary titles such as Ori and the Blind Forest and Celeste. Sound and music integrate leitmotifs and ambient production techniques resonant with scores recognized by bodies like the Australian Recording Industry Association and live performance circuits. Development cycles have involved iterative playtesting at conventions including Game Developers Conference and local expos, and quality assurance phases coordinated with community betas and coverage by outlets like Eurogamer.

Reception and Impact

Hollow Knight received critical acclaim for its art direction, level design, and difficulty balance, with coverage from Polygon, Kotaku, and The Guardian. The title achieved strong commercial performance on Steam sales charts and sustained visibility on curated storefront lists such as Humble Bundle. Team Cherry’s success contributed to increased attention on Australian video games as a creative hub, influencing indie studios and spawning academic interest at institutions like the University of Adelaide and conferences examining narrative design and player psychology. The studio cultivated a robust fanbase that has produced fan art, speedrunning communities, and fan mods discussed on YouTube, Twitch, and community wikis.

Awards and Nominations

Team Cherry and its work have been nominated for and received awards from organizations and events including nominations at The Game Awards, recognition at SXSW for creative achievement, and nominations by industry bodies such as the Independent Games Festival and the Australian Games Awards. Soundtrack and audio design have garnered attention from music-oriented awards and festival showcases, while art direction and independent game recognition have been cited in year-end lists by IGN and Game Informer.

Category:Australian video game developers Category:Indie game developers