Neil Druckmann, the creative director of Naughty Dog, posted on the PlayStation Blog with an update on the highly-anticipated sequel to the post-apocalyptic world of Ellie and Joel. The Last of Us Part II will now release on May 29th of next year. The original launch date was February 21st, 2020. The four-month delay will likely frustrate many gamers, but the studio head discusses the decision in the post.

While acknowledging that only a month or so has passed since the official reveal of the game’s release date and complex gameplay, the development team realized they didn’t have the time before release to reach their rigorous quality standards. Druckmann comments:

At this point we were faced with two options: compromise parts of the game or get more time. 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.

While we’re relieved that we won’t have to compromise our vision, we’re disappointed that we weren’t able to avoid this exact situation. We wish we could’ve foreseen the amount of polish we needed, but the size and scope of this game got the better of us. We hate disappointing our fans and for that we’re sorry.

It’s unfortunate that we will have to wait longer for the next step in the story, but Naughty Dog has a history of high-quality games with near-perfect execution. If they need more time, they can take it. The Last of Us Part II will be better for it.

What other games in 2020 are you excited for?