14 DAY TRIAL // UPDATE: Naughty Dog's Director, Neil Druckmann has just confirmed that The Last of Us Part II has a new release date of May 29, 2020. According to him, the studio realized it doesn't have enough time to bring the game up to a level of polish it could be called Naughty Dog quality. The new release date allows the studio to finish everything to its level of satisfaction while also reducing the crunching time.
PlayStation and Naughty Dog announced exactly one month ago that the highly-anticipated The Last of Us Part II will release on February 21, 2020. Unfortunately, it looks like the game's launch date has now slipped further into spring, Kotaku claims.
Two independent sources confirmed to Kotaku that Sony has decided to delay the launch of The Last of Us Part II to spring. The Japanese publisher has yet to confirm the information, but an official announcement is expected to arrive this week.
The reason for the delay is unclear but might be related to the number of major releases happing around the same period. Final Fantasy VII, Animal Crossing and Cyberpunk 2077 are still on track for a Q1-Q2 release, while Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, which was initially scheduled to be launched in March, has been delayed as well.
Players who'd like to pre-order The Last of Us Part II will have three options to choose from, besides the standard version: Collector's, Digital Deluxe and Special Edition. No pricing has been confirmed yet and since the game might have been delayed, we'll probably learn more about that next year.
What we know is that the Collector's Edition comes with a voucher for digital content, including a PS4 dynamic theme, a set of six PSN avatars, a digital soundtrack, and a digital version of the mini art book.
Also, the Collector's Edition includes a crafted 12-inch Ellie statue, a life-sized replica of Ellie's bracelet, a custom SteelBook case, a 48-page mini art book from Dark Horse, a set of six enamel pins, lithograph art print, and a set of five stickers.
The Special Edition features the custom SteelBook case and all of the digital content found in the Collector's Edition. Last but not least, the Digital Deluxe Edition contains all of the digital content included in the other Special Editions, as well as a digital copy of the Standard Edition.
Pre-ordering either of these versions on PlayStation Store will instantly reward you with The Last of Us Part II PSN avatar featuring Ellie's tattoo. All players who pre-order any edition of the game will receive two in-game unlocks at launch: Ammo Capacity Upgrade (instantly unlocks an ammo capacity upgrade for Ellie's pistol) and Crafting Training Manual (provides access to new crafting recipes and upgrades).