We’ve got some disappointing news for fans of The Last of Us. Rumors ahead of E3 2019 are pointing to The Last of Us: Part II being delayed until at least next year. So, for those of you expecting to continue the saga this year, that is a huge bummer indeed. What’s the reason for the delay? It seems like it is the same old, same old developer issues and nothing to do with the quality of the game itself.
The rumour that The Last of Us 2 was not coming out this year was kicked off by Kotaku’s Jason Schreier, who was told by “reliable” internal sources at Naughty Dog that the game wouldn’t be coming out this year. PushSquare.com implies that this delay might also have something to do with Hideo Kojima’s upcoming game Death Stranding, which is apparently coming out during the winter season of 2019.
For fans of the The Last of Us, the news that Death Stranding is delaying the game might sound strange and, indeed, it is. We doubt it is that and it probably has more to do with fit and finish as well as final polishing more than anything else. Looking beyond just Death Stranding, though, 2019 is slated to be an absolutely huge year for games. One title many people were expecting was Cyberpunk 2077, but there’s no word on an official release date for that. There’s also the ninja samurai epic Ghosts of Tsushima, which Sony is reportedly pushing hard. It might be a staggered strategy rather than having anything to do with the development of The Last of Us 2 as a game.
What we’ve heard about the gameplay for The Last of Us: Part II paints a title that is basically more of what made the first game so good. That might not sound that exciting until you consider that the first game was developed for the PlayStation 3 and now Naughty Dog has access to the power of the PlayStation 4. We’re expecting more environments, interactivity, puzzles, and situations than the first game could ever throw at you. One thing that we also have heard will be maintained throughout is the epic cinematic quality that the first game’s action had. Story and character development will be front and centre in this game as it was in the first title.
Whenever it comes out, it looks like The Last of Us 2 will join a litany of games that are all expected to be triple-A material and should see the Sony PlayStation 4 off with style. Then again, given that the PS5 is going to be backwards compatible, it would seem that Sony is less retiring the PS4 and more like welcoming in the next generation without missing a beat as far as awesome games go. As soon as we get more information on The Last of Us 2, we’ll be sure to pass it along to you.