UPDATE: Naughty Dog director Neil Druckmann confirmed The Last of Us 2 would be delayed until May 2020, according to a PlayStation Blog post. Original story follows.
According to a new report, The Last of Us 2, one of the last major current-gen console exclusives, will be delayed until Spring 2020 by Naughty Dog, and the company is expected to announce the delay officially soon. The news comes just one month after Sony and Naughty Dog hosted several high-profile events to celebrate the announcement of The Last of Us 2‘s release date, which was revealed to be February 21, 2020, a date that slotted nicely into the expected release schedule for Sony’s last few exclusives.
The Last of Us 2 isn’t just one of the biggest games of 2020, it’s one of the biggest games of the past five or ten years. Its predecessor is widely regarded by critics as one of the best video games ever made, and a sequel has been a long time coming. The Last of Us 2 was announced in 2016, and fans have been anxiously awaiting more news about the title ever since. In recent months, new gameplay reveals and storyline information have helped sate those who are finding it difficult to wait for the next instalment in Ellie and Joel’s adventure, while voice actor Troy Baker tantalized fans by suggesting that he believes Joel is closer to a villain than a hero – something that could be explored more in the second game.
Now, though, sources have informed Kotaku‘s Jason Schreier that The Last of Us 2 will be delayed until spring 2020, with no specific date rumored just yet. According to the report, which has been made thanks to information from “two people familiar with goings-on at Naughty Dog,” the studio plans to update fans on the delay within the week. No other details were provided in the report, such as why Naughty Dog now feels The Last of Us 2 needs more time in development before release, especially since the game previewed so positively among those who were able to get their hands on it. As is often the case, though, video game delays are generally a good thing, so fans shouldn’t panic over the delay.
What’s surprising is that the delay is occurring just one month after everyone involved got together and finally announced a release date for the game. That suggests something may have changed over the last month, but again, it’s unclear as to what that could even be.
As is always the case with reports like this, it’s also important to note that until Naughty Dog releases an official statement, The Last of Us 2 is still releasing on February 21, 2020. Schreier is well-known in the industry for breaking stories like this accurately and quickly, however, so the fact that he’s the source of the information lends it a lot more weight than rumors like this would usually have.
