The Last of Us Part II has been delayed indefinitely due to 'logistics' issues

[Polycount]

What just happened? Much to the disappointment of many, 2020 has been the year of game delays, and that trend doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon. Following in the footsteps of Cyberpunk 2077, Watch Dogs Legion, and many other postponed titles, AAA game development studio Naughty Dog has announced that it will be delaying the release of The Last of Us Part II "indefinitely."

You read that right: the sequel to 2013's fantastic post-apocalyptic survival adventure is being pushed back to an unknown date. This is a relatively uncommon occurrence in the AAA gaming industry -- typically, when a delay happens, a new release date (or at least a release window) is given shortly after.

However, the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is proving to be far more troublesome and unpredictable than even the most highly-organized game development studios could have anticipated. Thousands of developers have been forced to work from home, which is clearly slowing down the workflow for many teams; even those with hefty funding like Naughty Dog.

A message from us about the delay of The Last of Us Part II: pic.twitter.com/aGsSRfmJ8a

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) April 2, 2020

You can read the full statement from Naughty Dog in the tweet above, but in short, the delay was necessary due to "logistics beyond [the team's] control." We're not entirely sure what "logistics" the company is referring to here, but our money is on disruptions caused by Covid-19.

On the bright side, the statement also reveals that the game is nearly finished, and in the final stages of bug fixing and polishing. Ideally, this should mean the delay won't be very long, but we'll simply have to wait and see. Covid-19 isn't an easy virus for anyone to contend with, and we certainly hope Naughty Dog continues to prioritize the health of its workers over the making of The Last of Us Part II -- no matter how excited we are to get our hands on it.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/84676-last-us-part-ii-has-delayed-indefinitely-due.html

 

[Vulcanproject]

They know that a large portion of sales still rely on physical copies. It seems they may fear losing out if it is difficult to ship the discs, have people go to a store and buy them and launch in the major markets worldwide at the same time.

It's still a financial decision more than anything. Because if it really were solely logistics they would put another date on the release knowing that is when they would have enough copies distributed. They are waiting for everything to calm down.

 

[psycros]

They know that a large portion of sales still rely on physical copies. It seems they may fear losing out if it is difficult to ship the discs, have people go to a store and buy them and launch in the major markets worldwide at the same time.

It's still a financial decision more than anything. Because if it really were solely logistics they would put another date on the release knowing that is when they would have enough copies distributed. They are waiting for everything to calm down.

Uh, nobody knows when everything will "calm down" so they can't very well put a date on it. So it's very much a logistics issue for physical media.

 

[Vulcanproject]

Uh, nobody knows when everything will "calm down" so they can't very well put a date on it. So it's very much a logistics issue for physical media.

Hmm you think so? I'm not convinced it's only logistics. FF7 has been manufactured and shipped during the peak of the virus in Asia.

However it has shipped early for some regions, and the presser here hints that they want to control the release so that kind of thing does not happen for TLOU2. The plants the master the discs for each region are in Japan, Austria and the USA. Austria is badly hit.

Chances are they are every bit as likely doing a 'No Time to Die' delay to maximise sales of the game. Even that had a solid release date pencilled in when the delay was announced.

For games though you need to pick a date that doesn't clash with anything else important too. Summer releases are not seen as optimal time for most big game titles.

 

[lvzx14]

At a time when everyone is stuck inside and can use some entertainment...Figured this was going to happen, still a bummer.

 

[m4a4]

Hmm you think so? I'm not convinced it's only logistics. FF7 has been manufactured and shipped during the peak of the virus in Asia.

However it has shipped early for some regions, and the presser here hints that they want to control the release so that kind of thing does not happen for TLOU2. The plants the master the discs for each region are in Japan, Austria and the USA. Austria is badly hit.

Chances are they are every bit as likely doing a 'No Time to Die' delay to maximise sales of the game. Even that had a solid release date pencilled in when the delay was announced.

For games though you need to pick a date that doesn't clash with anything else important too. Summer releases are not seen as optimal time for most big game titles.

Yeah, I'm not convinced either. Logistics in this age for shipping and whatnot (if you even care for a physical copy) isn't like it was 10 years ago. People can get it pretty much on time and skip the store.

My best guess is that they have a twist in the game that they don't want to risk leaking (they've been dropping hints), and they're taking a weird measure to keep it from potentially leaking early..? Because the game is going to sell well regardless when it actually launches...

 

[Puiu]

Might as well push the release date back to holiday 2020 so that it launches in the same timeframe as the PS5.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Might as well push the release date back to holiday 2020 so that it launches in the same timeframe as the PS5.

That is my thought as well. They probably decided that between logistics, the loss of a lot of people's incomes, and the upcoming PS5, it probably made more sense to just sit on the title until the launch of the PS5

 

[kissx]

The Game should been out 2 years ago. No one can make a good game anymore!! They suck!

 

[Mr Majestyk]

No surprise, but I care not, I have hundreds of games in a backlog to play, another year for this won't matter.

 

[toooooot]

A virus prevented the release of the game about a virus that destroyed civilization as we know.

 

[toooooot]

The Game should been out 2 years ago. No one can make a good game anymore!! They suck!

Not really. Whenever they start streamlining games, these games become worse and worse until they become utter shite