The Last of Us 2 has been delayed once again, this time indefinitely due to distribution complications caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This is the third time the game has been delayed.
PlayStation confirmed the news on Twitter. "[Sony Interactive Entertainment] 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," it writes. "Logistically, the global crisis is preventing us from providing the launch experience our players deserve." In a follow-up tweet, the company said no other games have been delayed at this time.
Naughty Dog addressed the delay in a separate statement. The studio maintains that it's "nearly done with development" and is now just fixing final bugs, but that has no bearing on how coronavirus would affect the game's launch.
"We were faced with the reality that due to logistics beyond our control, we couldn't launch The Last of Us Part 2 to our satisfaction," the studio says. "We want to make sure everyone gets to play The Last of Us Part II around the same time, ensuring that we’re doing everything possible to preserve the best experience for everyone. This meant delaying the game until such a time where we can solve these logistic issues."
For the time being, The Last of Us 2 does not have a release date. Naughty Dog says it's "hoping this won't be a long delay," but neither it nor SIE offered a new release window. It all comes down to the coronavirus timeline, and judging from the conditions in the United States, it could be upwards of two months before things truly stabilize.
It may be delayed, but we know it's going to be good. We went hands-on with the game last month, and can say that The Last of Us 2 makes you feel like the monster.
