The Last of Us II delayed indefinitely. Will this be the new trend of 2020?

Naughty Dog announced that The Last of Us II has been delayed indefinitely due to COVID-19. This may become a regular theme for video games releasing this year.

The Last of Us II has now been delayed indefinitely due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the social-distancing measures that have been put in place because of it. The delay is a disappointing announcement for all us gaming nerds who were waiting with bated breath to sit at home and watch Ellie’s story unfold again.

Honestly, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to fans of Naughty Dog’s games, though. The Last of Us II was initially supposed to release in February 2020, but was pushed back to May to get everything just right. With almost every industry on hold since mid-March, it makes sense Naughty Dog might need more time to complete it.

Here’s the official Tweet announcing the change of plans:

It’s no secret that Naughty Dog pushes its developers and designers harder than most other companies for every game. The delay shouldn’t be surprising. Now, with social distancing at the forefront of everything, it’s harder to keep working, even remotely.

Naughty Dog is also notorious for being detail-oriented with its games, hence the crunch on its employees. The delay isn’t surprising, just disappointing.

And unfortunately, that’s probably going to become a trend for other games releasing later this year.

High-profile, highly anticipated games always seem to get pushed back a few months for release (looking at you, Cyberpunk 2077), just to put on some finishing touches and fine-tune everything before players get their hands on them.

But social-distancing measures make team collaborations harder, though not impossible. At the bare minimum, it slows down the process. Hearing the news about The Last of Us II concerns me for other games releasing later this year (still looking at you, Cyberpunk 2077).

And it’s the “indefinitely” part that’s worrisome more than anything. Because there’s so much still up in the air around the coronavirus, no one wants to commit to anything, only to have to delay again and again. Naughty Dog certainly made the right call, but it’s still not one we have to be happy about. Not right away, at least.

Thankfully, several solid games (Final Fantasy VII Remake and the newly released Resident Evil 3 Remake) are set to be released over the next month or two — and available to purchase or pre-order. At least we’ll be able to enjoy those until we get our hands on The Last of Us II.

And whenever we’re graced with The Last of Us II will be a happy day — heck, even announcing a new release date will get everyone excited again.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.