14 DAY TRIAL // The indefinite delay of The Last of Us Part II was one of the worst news for Sony, as the Japanese company lacked any major PlayStation 4 exclusive releases this year. Apart from Final Fantasy VII Remake, which is not a Sony title, no notable high-profile games launched exclusively on PlayStation 4 in 2020.
Early this month, Sony announced that it made the difficult decision to delay the launch of The Last of Us Part II and Marvel's Iron Man VR until further notice. According to Kotaku's Jason Schreier, the decision was made “purely for economic/logistical reasons,” not because Naughty Dog, the developer of the game, needs extra time for polishing.
It looks like Sony's decision to delay the game indefinitely was not well received among Naughty Dog's employees, as one of them took it online to leak the game's ending. We strongly recommend those who want to play the game to not watch the video leaked recently and encourage fans of the series to try and avoid any spoils whatsoever.
However, while we do not approve such actions, it appears that the leak of the game's finale forced Sony to revert its initial decision to delay the game. The Japanese company announced today that The Last of Us Part II will arrive on June 19.
Of course, the announcement doesn't mention the leak as the cause behind the decision to launch the game in about two months from now. Instead, Sony says that the “ease in the global distribution environment” made it possible for its teams to adapt to the world changed by COVID-19, so there shouldn't be any disruptions in the distribution progress.
The Last of Us Part II is set 5 years after the events of the first game launched in 2013. Players will step into the shoes of a 19-year old Ellie, who comes into conflict with an unknown cult in a post-apocalyptic United States. The game was initially scheduled for release on May 29, but it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic in early April.