Bad news PS4 fans, as another delay has been announced this week. The Last of Us Part II will not be launching in February and will instead be delayed until the spring of next year. The delay was initially teased by various sources, which provided the leak to Kotaku, who first reported it as, “Looks like we might hear some unexpected news about a Sony first party title soon.” Since then though, Sony has confirmed the reveal, saying that the hotly-anticipated game will be pushed back to Spring.
Naughty Dog director Neil Druckmann published a post on the official PlayStation Blog to confirm that the game will instead release on May 29, 2020. He took the time to thank fans for their patience and support with this major AAA project, promising to deliver something worthy of the wait and the legacy the franchise has built on. Fans have already seen a few teasers for the game, revealing both lighthearted and much darker elements to the story.
“While we’re relieved that we won’t have to compromise our vision, we’re disappointed that we weren’t able to avoid this exact situation. We wish we could’ve foreseen the amount of polish we needed, but the size and scope of this game got the better of us,” said Druckmann. The statements in his announcements reveal that the company made the decision to further polish and refine the new gameplay elements within The Last of Us Part II. Elaborating further, Druckmann said, “We hope you understand that this additional time ensures that The Last of Us Part II lives up to our collective ambition as well as our commitment to the highest level of quality.”
Yes it definitely does suck that this major new title is being delayed, but the final product should definitely be worth it. Sony and Naughty Dog have been teasing the game and its story through various video and other news releases, offering a great glimpse to what the game looks like. The new story takes a much darker tone, with much more dangerous enemies hunting titular character Ellie. But at least she will have more friends this time around. Although the sequel will not include a multiplayer mode like the first game.
The Last of Us Part II will launch for PlayStation 4 on May 29, 2020.