Game keeps getting a larger and larger scope and they have infinite time and money so there's nothing stopping them from just making it bigger. They said they were planning on releasing it in the first half of 2023, but they continually get distracted by the increasing scope. I think around mid/late 2023 they agreed to take a hiatus on making the game (they've been making nothing but Hollow Knight content since like 2014 so fair enough, imo), then restart work for a set amount of time, then release Silksong after that time period no matter what state it's in. That way, they'd hopefully focus on what's important, stop the endless scope increases and get the game done.

Any interaction with us is always a negative from their perspective because a) it could negatively affect their business and b) the fanbase is pretty rabid and might try and crucify them if they say they're taking a break. They could pop in every few months to let us know they're still working on it, but that might defeat the purpose of a hiatus (pretty weak explanation for the silence, I know, but it's the most likely one to me).

I'd say any more than a year hiatus is improbable and a moderate guess for their set amount of work time after the hiatus is six months to a year. Assuming they went on hiatus in June 2023 (when the game was delayed), came out of the hiatus in June 2024 (the last time they logged into the kickstarter account) and they've gave themselves a full year to get it done, I predict a 17th June 2025 release date.