News for The Last of Us Part 2 hasn't been great lately. Sony only recently announced that it would delay the game's launch indefinitely, and now fans are learning that the game won't even have a playable demo to enjoy in the meantime.
Like most things nowadays, The Last of Us Part 2 was delayed over concerns caused by the coronavirus. Sony decided to withhold the game's release until the pandemic calms dissipates.
However, since developmental concerns had nothing to do with the game's delay and the majority of society is trapped in their homes, most fans believe that around now would be the perfect time for a demo. And while they may not necessarily be wrong, Naughty Dog has responded to the idea by saying that a demo release would be practically impossible right now.
The director of The Last of Us Part 2, Neil Druckmann, explained why this is on a podcast hosted by the PlayStation Blog. Simply put, the Naughty Dog team doesn't have a digital demo ready, as preparing one for the PlayStation Network would require a lot of energy, time, and resources. The development team is currently in the final stages of The Last of Us Part 2's development. Druckmann would rather not ask them to create a polished demo while wrapping up the game as it would tax them.
While it's true that Naughty Dog showcased a "press demo" for The Last of Us Part 2 earlier in the game's development, the demo is no longer viable. For one thing, it's outdated and doesn't represent how the current version of the game plays. And for another, its creation was different from that of a PSN demo.
The press demo was simply the whole game of the Last of Us Part 2, with a portion of it cropped off for fans to play in a controlled environment while Naughty Dog watched. This monitoring allowed the developer to make sure that no accidents happened involving players seeing things that they shouldn't until the game's full release. This method obviously wouldn't be possible with a PSN demo as the scope is too big and the potential for spoilers too high.
So, no demo and no launch date for the full game. But if the new screenshots released after the game's indefinite delay announcement are any indication, fans can at least still look forward to its continued promotion.
The Last of Us Part 2 will release at an undisclosed time.
Source: PlayStation Blogcast