Geoff Keighley, host of the Game Awards, announced on Twitter today that The Last of Us 2 developer Naughty Dog will hold a media event at the end of September. The event may finally reveal the release date of the much anticipated sequel.
Naughty Dog hasn't shown off anything substantial from The Last of Us 2 since E3 2018. At the event, the team premiered a lengthy gameplay demo that featured a level of polish that many though would push the game into the next console generation. Since then, fans have continued to speculate about how long they would have to wait before they could finally get their hands on the game.
Soon, it seems, fans may finally have their answer. With a huge media event like the one teased by Keighly this late in the development, fans can safely assume that they will at least get a release window for The Last of Us 2. The PlayStation exclusive seems like it might follow in the footsteps of its predecessor and launch as the swan song for Sony's flagship console.
Many rumors have already teased a possible release date for The Last of Us 2. Initially, folks close to Naughty Dog had heard that the game would come in February of 2020, but more recent wisdom puts the date at the end of May. Sony has kept the details close to its chest, taking the "it will be ready when it's ready" approach. If the release date actually does end up coming early next year, it would mean the team has begun to put the finishing touches on the game.
The announcement of an event that asks media to go out of their way to cover a single game most likely points to a huge reveal. Some folks at the recent GameStop Expo got to see new The Last of Us 2 gameplay behind closed doors. It stands to reason that, on top of release information, Naughty Dog would use a huge event like this to show this gameplay to the public. Fans really want to see what has changed or evolved since the 2018 demo. Whatever they show should give a very accurate look at how the game will play.
The Last of Us 2 sounds much larger than its predecessor. This, plus the fact that the team made two Uncharted games in the six years since the first The Last of Us game released, should help explain the long development cycle. Hopefully, the upcoming event will let players know exactly when they can get their hands on the game. The event will commence on September 24th.
The Last of Us 2 is in development for the PS4.