It’s gonna be May 29: The Last of Us: Part 2 gets new release date

By Gabe Gurwin Published October 24, 2019

The Last of Us Part II 2 motion capture development complete — PlayStation Studios

Earlier today, it was reported that The Last of Us: Part 2 would be getting delayed only a month after its release date was first announced. Now, we have confirmation from the game’s director, and you’ll have to wait a few extra months before you get the next chapter in Naughty Dog’s tale.

In an announcement on the PlayStation Blog, director Neil Druckmann saidd The Last of Us: Part 2 will now launch on May 29, 2020, which is about three months past its original release date. Druckmann cited a commitment to quality above all else for the decision, and acknowledged how unusual it was to delay a game so soon after announcing a release date. The team realized soon after the announcement that it needs more time to polish the game to its usual high standards.

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“At this point, we were faced with two options: Compromise parts of the game or get more time,” he said. “We went with the latter, and this new release date allows us to finish everything to our level of satisfaction while also reducing stress on the team.”

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Expectations are already through the roof for the sequel, given that the original The Last of Us is one of the most acclaimed video games of all time. The later release date could also make it the perfect swan song for the PlayStation 4.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

“We hope that you understand that this additional time ensures that The Last of Us: Part 2 lives up to our collective ambition, as well as our commitment to the highest level of quality,” Druckmann added. “We know the extra few months will add to what may already be an excruciating wait for all of us.”

Naughty Dog wasn’t alone today in its decision to delay games. Ubisoft announced via a financial report that it would be bumping Watch Dogs: Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine, and Gods & Monsters into the next fiscal year. The decision comes after poor sales and critical reception for Ghost Recon Breakpoint, which was lambasted for its bugs, poorly implemented new features, pervasive microtransactions, and failure to differentiate itself from other tactical shooters. It is currently one of the worst-reviewed games in the entire series.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

Naughty Dog devs suffer layoffs, reportedly impacting Last of Us multiplayer spinoff

Ellie looking concerned.

A new report revealed that Naughty Dog has ended several contracts it had with developers early, laying off around 25 developers. This had a negative impact on The Last of Us multiplayer game but, more importantly, is chillingly just the latest batch of layoffs in a rough couple of months for the video game industry.
These contracted developers were informed that their contracts were ending prematurely at the end of October and that they'd get no severance afterward, according to the report at Kotaku. Reportedly, most of these layoffs at Naughty Dog, PlayStation's darling studio that employs over 400 developers, come from the quality assurance, art, and production teams. According to Kotaku, Naughty Dog asked its developers to keep quiet about it. That didn't happen, though, with developers telling Kotaku not only about the layoffs but that the multiplayer The Last of Us game "while not completely canceled, is basically on ice at this point."
Concept art for Naughty Dog's Last of Us multiplayer title. Naughty Dog
These layoffs are unfortunate but sadly not uncommon for the game industry. Throughout the last few weeks, studios like Ubisoft, Creative Assembly, Ascendant Studios, and Epic Games have all laid off people. Epic, in particular, cut a whopping 16% of its workforce despite the fact that Fortnite is one of the most popular video games. Then, there are studios like Saints Row's Volition, support studio Puny Human, and Boomerang X's Dang are closing entirely.
Although 2023 has been a year full of fantastic games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Street Fighter 6, and Baldur's Gate 3, it's unfortunate that it has been so rough for the developers who actually make the games in this gigantic industry. It's clear something needs to change.

Gaming

Naughty Dog confirms its working on a new single-player game in odd apology post

Abby screaming in The Last of Us Part II

The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog has confirmed that it's working on a new single-player game in a fairly odd manner. The news came in the middle of an apologetic post explaining why the studio didn't show its upcoming Last of Us multiplayer project during this week's PlayStation Showcase.

https://twitter.com/Naughty_Dog/status/1662166716892479488

Computing

This might be why The Last of Us has terrible stuttering on PC

Joel looks at Ellie in The Last of Us Part 2.

The Last of Us on PC has launched in a dire state. Although I haven't experienced as many issues as some players are reporting, the consensus is clear: the game is buggy, poorly optimized, and underbaked. It's currently sitting with a Mostly Negative review status on Steam, which is typically reserved for the most broken games, like Battlefield 2042.

Consider yourself warned if you want to jump into Joel and Ellie's story on PC, especially if you just finished off the excellent HBO series. For players who already have the game, there's a particular issue you should be aware of that relates to Nvidia's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), as well as demands on your system that go far beyond the recommended specs.
A possible source of stutter