Not too long ago, it was confirmed that The Last of Us: Part 2 will be a part of Sony’s PlayStation E3 2018 press conference, with fans understandably hoping that the forthcoming survival horror title will receive an official release date in 2018. However, should Days Gone's creative director John Garvin be correct, then it appears as if the PS4 exclusive from Naughty Dog could be launching at some point next year.
This much was intimated during a recent interview Garvin held with Game Informer, in which the Days Gone creative director offered a plethora of gameplay details about the forthcoming action-adventure release from Bend Studio. At about the halfway point of the discussion, though, the interviewer asked Garvin if "[Days Gone] is coming out before The Last of Us: Part 2," with the developer succinctly saying, "Yes."
For those unaware, Days Gone is currently slated to release at some point in early 2019, so if Garvin's statement is accurate, then logic dictates that The Last of Us: Part 2 will be coming out next year as well. Currently, the Naughty Dog survival-horror game has yet to receive an official announcement regarding a release date, so it's quite possible that the Days Gone creative director unintentionally shared some privileged information ahead of a formal reveal from Sony.
All things considered, there's no doubt that The Last of Us: Part 2 fans would ideally want to see the game come out in 2018 – especially since it's been almost two years since it was confirmed at PlayStation Experience 2016. Of course, there's a good chance that Naughty Dog will need some more time in order to ensure a high caliber of quality, which makes a 2019 launch sound much more feasible. That said, Garvin's statement in relation to TLOU2's release after Days Gone could be wrong, which would leave a potential window open for the game to come out in 2018. Nevertheless, we will simply have to wait for more news regarding Naughty Dog's forthcoming project come E3 2018.
The Last of Us: Part 2 currently lacks an official release date, but is in production for PlayStation 4.
Source: Game Informer