UPDATE: Based on several new reports, it appears that The Last of Us Part 2 will be releasing in February 2020, neatly sandwiched between the major holiday releases and Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Animal Crossing, both of which arrive in March. The reports can be found here.
The hotly anticipated The Last of Us 2 may have just been delayed, according to a recent report from a known industry insider. PlayStation fans have had a bit of an off year following what can only be described as a terrific 2018. Few new exclusives for the PS4 in the shadow of the PS5 is a large reason for this, but other decisions like PlayStation skipping E3 2019 entirely have left fans wanting more than just the promise of games like Death Stranding and the aforementioned The Last of Us Part II arriving "soon."
Fortunately for PlayStation fans, Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding is on track to arrive on November 8, 2019, as a PS4 exclusive. With the promise of an entirely different gaming experience arriving for the platform, fans are right to want a follow up to one of the most critically beloved Naughty Dog games ever released, The Last of Us. Despite never receiving an official release date from Sony, a new report states that the sequel has been pushed back to 2020.
As fans gathered around to watch Death Stranding's bizarre Twitch stream for hours on end, details on the game's release date got out prematurely. This led Kotaku news editor Jason Schreier to comment on the leak via Twitter before then confirming that he has heard reports that The Last of Us Part II has been delayed until 2020. Despite lacking an official release date, Schreier confirmed that PlayStation and Naughty Dog were originally aiming for a Fall 2019 release.
It's now possible that the game will land in early 2020, as Schreier noted that a February launch is a possibility. Admittedly, this isn't welcome news for gamers that have been chomping at the bit to see the next chapter in Joel and Ellie's story, but taking the time necessary to provide the appropriate amount of polish should prove to be well worth it. Fans have waited a long time for this sequel, after all, and they deserve to be rewarded for their patience.
Still, this report is sure to come as a shock given that Naughty Dog was hiring staff to "close out" development of The Last of Us 2. The studio also only just filmed the last scene for The Last of Us Part II, which further led fans to believe that a 2019 release was imminent. Heck, even the game's composer stated that The Last of Us 2 was "coming very soon." Again, more time in the oven is the right call if that's what the game needs, but a new trailer would go a long way in satiating gamers starving for anything on The Last of Us Part II.
Source: Jason Schreier/Twitter