The Last of Us Part II has been delayed. Naughty Dog hopes “that this won’t be a long delay,” but did not mention a new release window for The Last of Us Part II.
In October, The Last of Us Part II was delayed by three months, and even though we’ve just learned of another delay, we don’t exactly know when Ellie and Joel’s next story will hit.
Speaking to fans on their Twitter account, developer Naughty Dog assures fans “we’re nearly done with development” while admitting they are still “in the midst of fixing our final bugs.”
A message from us about the delay of The Last of Us Part II: pic.twitter.com/aGsSRfmJ8a
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) April 2, 2020
“However,” reads the statement, “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 logistics referenced here are likely playtesting sessions, which require testers to physically be in an office so as to reduce the risk of the game leaking early. With the majority of the United States being under COVID-19 quarantine, it is simply impossible for this playtesting to occur.
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The release also references how Naughty Dog wants “to make sure everyone gets to play The Last of Us Part II around the same time,” which alludes to localization quality testing. Perhaps playtesting, specifically for all of the languages TLoU2 will support, is the final piece holding Naughty Dog back from releasing their apocalyptic sequel.
“We’re hoping that this won’t be a long delay,” the Naughty Dog release concludes, “and we’ll update you as soon as we have new information to share.”
TLoU2 was slated to release on May 29, 2020 for the Sony PlayStation 4 console. Watch this space for any updates on a new The Last of Us Part II release date.