The Last of Us II has been delayed again, and this time Naughty Dog doesn't have a firm release date.
Today Naughty Dog confirmed their big post-apocalyptic sequel has been delayed indefinitely due to coronavirus disruption. This is the second major delay the game has faced since being announced in December 2016.
"As you've likely just seen, the release of The Last of Us Part II has been delayed. We're sure this news is just as disappointing to you as it is to us," Naughty Dog wrote on Twitter.
"The good news is, we're nearly done with development of the game. We are in the midst of fixing our final bugs."
The statement goes on to strongly hint the game was delayed because of shipping issues, which could see the game released early for some and weeks--or even months--later for others. Other publishers like Square Enix tried to solve this issue by launching games like Final Fantasy VII Remake early in some regions.
"However, even with finishing the game, we were faced with ther eality that due to logistics beyond our control, we couldn't launch The Last of Us Part II to our satisfaction. We want to make sure everyone gets to play the game around the same time, ensuring we're doing everything possible to preserve the best experience for everyone. This meant delaying the game until such a time where we can solve these logistic issues."
It's likely The Last of Us II could turn into a launch PS5 game, if, of course, the next-gen console is actually released in Holiday 2020 as planned.
This isn't a surprise, though. Just a few days ago, Sony warned investors that first-party exclusives could get delayed due to COVID-19. We also predicted back in February that the coronavirus could significantly impact the PlayStation business and lead to a console delay into 2021.