The Last of Us Part II has been delayed indefinitely.
The news, while unsurprising, still comes as a blow to fans staring down the barrel of a year spent in Covid-19 enforced isolation. The announcement came through from PlayStation earlier this morning:
Update: SIE has made the difficult decision to delay the launch of The Last of Us Part II and Marvel’s Iron Man VR until further notice. Logistically, the global crisis is preventing us from providing the launch experience our players deserve.
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) April 2, 2020
The game’s developer Naughty Dog then chimed in to offer further clarity:
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
And finally, the game’s director Neil Druckmann offered a personal apology:
Extremely sad to deliver this news to y’all. Ultimately, the situation is out of our control. We hope you understand. Stay safe out there. ❤️ https://t.co/fqvp6sraX6
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) April 2, 2020
PlayStation didn’t offer any new release date for The Last of Us Part II, or Iron Man VR which was delayed in the same announcement. The reason for the delay is most likely down to an inability to ship on time due to manufacturing concerns caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, and enforced work-from-home measures that limit the final stages of the game’s production pipeline. The title now slides ever closer to the proposed launch window of the PlayStation 5 in November.
This latest announcement marks the second major delay for The Last of Us Part II. After its original February launch was announced in a PlayStation State of Play broadcast, it was delayed only weeks later to May 2020. Only weeks ago, it was announced that the original game was to be adapted into a television series at HBO.
