Mina the Hollower has become one of the most critically acclaimed games of 2026, and developer Yacht Club Games has been doing the interview circuit lately. But when talks turned to future content plans, they opened up about a past experience that still haunts them.
After the successful Kickstarter campaign for Shovel Knight, the team promised a ton of free DLC content. Those add-ons kept growing and growing—eventually becoming four entire campaigns that could practically sell as standalone games.
One Promise Led to Years of Extra Work
Yacht Club Games admits they severely underestimated the scope. What started as a way to thank backers turned into years of development. Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, and other content kept expanding beyond anyone’s expectations, consuming far more resources than originally planned. Looking back, while these DLC expansions made Shovel Knight a legendary indie hit, they also cost the studio dearly in dev time and money.
Mina the Hollower Won’t Make the Same Mistake
So when interviewers asked about big free DLC for Mina the Hollower, the team gave a cautious answer. They’ve learned that Shovel Knight‘s experience taught them a valuable lesson: don’t write checks your game can’t cash yet. Better to focus on making the current game great rather than over-promising free content that becomes a development nightmare.
Promises Players Love to Hear But Devs Dread
Funnily enough, those “out-of-control free DLCs” from Shovel Knight are now held up as examples of developer generosity in the industry. But whenever fans praise those free add-ons, the devs probably think less about the applause and more about endless delay calendars. Now that Mina the Hollower is a success, Yacht Club Games clearly isn’t re-living that same story. Some promises stick with players for a decade—and developers might end up working on them for just as long.