With many people currently confined to their homes in quarantine or self-isolation, the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in many games seeing an increase in active players. Some, like Borderlands 3, have been releasing new events to try and capitalise on this. However, for games still in development, the pandemic is posing significant logistical problems. As a result, Naughty Dog today announced that The Last of Us Part 2 will be delayed… for the second time.
“We’re sure this news is just as disappointing to you as it is to us,” writes Naughty Dog, in an announcement post earlier today; “The good news is, we’re nearly done with development of The Last of Us Part II. We are in the midst of fixing final bugs. However, even with us finishing the game, we were faced with the reality that due to logistics beyond our control, we couldn’t launch The Last of Us Part II to our satisfaction.”
The Last of Us Part 2 Delayed for a Second Time
Although Naughty Dog’s statement doesn’t clearly state what these problems are, it does hint at one; “We want to make sure everyone gets to play The Last of Us Part 2 at the same time,” they write. Launching a game in retail stores at present would be next to impossible, especially with most businesses in lockdown. As such, it’s entirely possible that Sony doesn’t wish to do a staggered release; launching the game digitally first with a retail release whenever one becomes possible. Doing so would mean having to spend money marketing the game twice, for all intents and purposes. As such, doing so would very likely hurt the game’s launch revenue. (Assuming that there aren’t also logistical problems preventing a digital release, which is by no means certain.)
At present, neither Naughty Dog nor Sony have announced a new release date for The Last of Us Part 2. However, Naughty Dog did write that they are; “hoping that this won’t be a long delay,” and will be sharing any new information when it arrives. The situation currently developing around the world due to COVID-19 is unprecedented. As a result, it’s next to impossible to make an accurate guess as to when the game might launch. The game’s release date, before today, was the 29th of May; given the timing, a delay of at least a month seems like a safe bet. However, it could easily prove longer if the present circumstances don’t improve or otherwise change. Certainly, gamers should brace themselves for more announcements like this in the coming weeks and months as more studios with upcoming games run into the same logistical problems currently facing Naughty Dog.