William Pellen
William Pellen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Education | TAFE SA |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 2008-present |
| Notable work | Hollow Knight Hollow Knight: Silksong |
| Title | Co-founder and co-director of Team Cherry (2014–present) |
| Spouse | Victoria Roberts |
| Children | 2; 1 expected |
| Parent | Zara Pellen (mother) |
| Relatives | Lex Pellen[1] Thomas Pellen[1] |
| Twitter information | |
| Handle | |
| Topic | Shitposting |
| Followers | 9,781 (2 October 2025) |
William Pellen is an Australian video game designer and former web designer, best known for his work on Hollow Knight (2017) and its sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong (2025). He is also the co-founder and co-director of the games' development studio, Team Cherry.
Early life and education
William Pellen was born in Adelaide, South Australia,[2][3] to his mother, Zara Pellen,[4][5] and his father.
Pellen became interested in creating video games as a child through the use of software like RPG Maker. He played around with such software for "years", "without any notion that one day [he] could actually get a job doing it".[6] He earned Diplomas of Digital Media and of Website Development from TAFE SA.[7]
Career
Pellen worked for the company Optus from 2008 to 2011, in multiple roles.[7] He was also formerly a freelance web designer, creating websites for clients such as the Lake Albert Caravan Park, with his website being named "Wilco Design".[8][9][10] He also worked for a company as a web designer—likely Inprint Design Adelaide[7]—with his friend Ari Gibson describing him as the "lynchpin [of] the entire operation" during his time there.[9] As a hobby, he was an indie game developer, creating small flash games.[6] By the time he co-formed Team Cherry, he had been working "part-time" for a while.[9]
In 2014, Pellen co-founded the independent video game studio Team Cherry with Ari Gibson, whom he had previously worked with on game jams. They started a Kickstarter project for their then-upcoming game Hollow Knight, which was a success; the game released in 2017 to critical acclaim. Pellen worked on the game's overall design, and also co-directed its development.[11]
He later worked on a piece of Hollow Knight downloadable content that eventually evolved into a sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, with the same roles he had while working on Hollow Knight.[12] The game's development took over seven years, though Pellen described the process as enjoyable.[13] Hollow Knight: Silksong released on 4 September 2025, also to critical acclaim.[14]
Personal life
Pellen is married to Victoria (née Roberts),[5][15][16] and has two children, with a third on the way as of August 2025.[13] His future-wife supported him financially during development of Hollow Knight.[9] He maintains a close relationship with his parents, with them both being active in Hollow Knight Facebook groups, and his mother Zara, and possibly his father, voice acting for his games.[4][17][18][a]
Pellen owns[b] a Twitter account, "little bomey", that he uses to shitpost.[21] In January 2025, the account posted a cryptic tweet and changed multiple other aspects, leading fans to believe he was creating an ARG hinting at April 2nd, the date of a then-upcoming Nintendo Direct. While later denied by Team Cherry marketing manager Matthew Griffin, Silksong did appear at the direct.[21][22][23][24][25]
List of known games
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Return to Booty Grotto[8] |
| 2013 | Tomb Cat[26] |
| Hungry Knight[11] | |
| 2017 | Hollow Knight[11] |
| 2025 | Hollow Knight: Silksong[12] |
Cancelled games
| Title |
|---|
| Lulanda[c] |
| Wilco LCD Classics[8] |
Notes
- ^ Pellen stated in 2021 that his father was interested in voicing for Silksong; it is unknown if one of Pellen's relatives listed in the credits as a voice actor is his father.
- ^ Some sources say "believed to be owned", while others state it is. Its ownership has been confirmed[19] by a friend and former playtester.[20]
- ^ While Lulanda was never released, two demos were.[27][28]
References
- ^ a b Team Cherry (4 September 2025). Hollow Knight: Silksong. Scene: Credits.
Additional Character Voices: ... Lex Pellen ... Thomas Pellen
- ^ Thorsland, Dan (28 March 2019). "How Adelaide developers are taking on the gaming world". Adelaide Review. Archived from the original on 29 April 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (1 May 2025). "Hollow Knight: Silksong will be playable in September 2025 — at an Australian museum". IGN. Archived from the original on 1 May 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ a b Dealessandri, Marie (31 July 2018). "When We Made… Hollow Knight". MCV/Develop. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ a b Team Cherry (24 February 2017). Hollow Knight. Scene: Credits.
Additional Character Voices: ... Zara Pellen ... Victoria Roberts
- ^ a b Yeo 2021, p. 117.
- ^ a b c Pellen, William. "William Pellen". LinkedIn. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ a b c Pellen, William. "Wilco Design Portfolio". Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d Yeo 2021, p. 120.
- ^ Yeo 2021, p. 126.
- ^ a b c Milner, David. "The Making Of Hollow Knight". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ a b Sirani, Jordan (14 February 2024). "Hollow Knight: Silksong – Everything We Know About the 2D Metroidvania Sequel". IGN. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ a b Schreier, Jason (21 August 2025). "Why 'Silksong' Took Seven Years to Make". Bloomberg. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Pritchard, Marie (1 September 2025). "Hollow Knight Silksong release date". Eurogamer. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ Yeo 2021, p. 119.
- ^ Hamilton, Kirk (2 September 2018). "The Makers Of Hollow Knight Are Fine With Players Missing Things". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 7 May 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ Yeo 2021, p. 122.
- ^ Yeo 2021, p. 125.
- ^ Graig. "That really is William's Twitter account". Reddit.
- ^ Wood, Austin (9 February 2023). "After Nintendo Direct no-show, Hollow Knight Silksong playtester throws fans a lifeline". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
- ^ a b Randall, Harvey (17 January 2025). "The Silksong hive is buzzing over a dev tweet that sees a chocolate cake, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Imagine Dragons all pointing with red string to the April Switch 2 Nintendo Direct". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 18 January 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (17 January 2025). "Hollow Knight: Silksong Dev Fuels Nintendo Switch 2 Direct Fever With a Picture of a Chocolate Cake". IGN. Archived from the original on 8 April 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ Philips, Tom (17 January 2025). "Silksong fans believe creator's Switch 2 tease points to April game announcement - and it's all thanks to a slice of cake". Eurogamer. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
- ^ Randall, Harvey (21 January 2025). "The cake was a lie, but Silksong 'is real, progressing and will release' say devs, after flurry of conspiracy theories revealed to be a 'nothingburger'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 6 April 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ Warren, Mark (3 April 2025). "In Hollow Knight: Silksong's case, the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct cake was somehow not a lie". VG247. Archived from the original on 10 April 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ Ofner, Claudia Susanne (2021). Play Me a Story: Storytelling in the Metroidvania Game Hollow Knight (PDF) (Master's thesis). Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ "Lulanda Prelude v6". Stencyl. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ^ "Lulanda Demo 2". Newgrounds. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
Bibliography
- Yeo, Amanda (2021). "Issue 2". A Profound Waste of Time.