With The Last of Us Part 2 only a week from launch, anticipation is building among fans. As reviews continue to praise the sequel's emotionally rich narrative, fans of the game are also excitedly celebrating another major milestone in the road to the game's release. Now, players who pre-ordered a digital copy of The Last of Us Part 2 can download the game on their PS4s.

As games grow more advanced, file sizes continue to expand. Games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake, for example, are infamous for weighing in at 100 gigabytes. Thankfully, The Last of Us Part 2 is not as large as other AAA games, but it will still take awhile to install on slower Internet connections. However, pre-loading will allow less fortunate players to prepare the game in advance of its debut.

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Previously, several Reddit users noticed that Sony's countdown to The Last of Us Part 2's release also included "an expected auto-download date" of June 12, 2020. According to a report from PushSquare, The Last of Us Part 2 is 78.52 GB, and players will be downloading version 1.02. However, players who install the game this week will be unable to unlock their copy until June 19.

On Twitter, some users were surprised that the game was available to pre-load so early. After all, other AAA titles like Spider-Man for the PS4 only made the game available three days early. However, two major factors may have contributed to this date in particular. While one such factor is the game's file size, the COVID-19 pandemic is another, since social distancing makes it difficult to obtain physical games. In fact, Naughty Dog delayed The Last of Us Part 2 due to the logistical problems of a worldwide launch in the middle of a lockdown. Although pre-loading does not resolve all of these issues, it is a massive boon to players who lack other options.

Overall, players should be excited for The Last of Us Part 2's release. Despite some reports concerning the game's divisive nature, it is clear that Naughty Dog and Sony have gone to great lengths to improve on the first part's gameplay and to make it widely accessible in these difficult times.

The Last of Us Part 2 will be available on June 19, 2020 for PS4.

MORE: The Last of Us 2 Director Suggests Some of the Spoilers Online Are Fake

Source: PushSquare