This news comes just a few weeks after Sony delayed the game “indefinitely” so while it’s certainly great to know that we’ll still be getting Naughty Dog’s latest project fairly soon it does make one wonder why so much effort was put into pushing the game back only three weeks.

Fans of The Last of Us can rejoice and sing their praises to Sony and the gods of distribution as they’re now once again on track to continue the story of Ellie without waiting much longer. The Last of Us has had a bumpy road with several delays pushing the game to launch on 29 May but given the COVID-19 crisis, even that launch date was delayed. Thing is, Sony delayed it indefinitely which meant that fans were left high and dry as to when they could expect TLOU Part II to ship. Citing logistical and shipping concerns, Sony even pulled the game from PlayStation Network and refunded all players who wanted their money back. It was a big deal and it seems it was kind of over-reaction…

That’s because it was announced that The Last of Us Part II will now release on 19 June, 2020. That’s just over three weeks difference between the expected launch date and the current release which seems like a minimal change in expectations given the drastic measures Sony took regarding the title. Perhaps we’re just thinking about it too much. It’s just bizarre that Sony would go to effort to physically remove the game and cancel pre-orders when the delay wasn’t even a month.

A message from the studio: pic.twitter.com/f0TzIZXUIB

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) April 27, 2020

Maybe that’s cynical thinking though. Perhaps this whole thing was a case of, “Remove it until we’re certain” and things actually panned out better than anyone expected. Alongside the announcement that The Last of Us Part II was set to release once again, fellow PlayStation exclusive Ghost of Tsushima was also hit with a small delay, falling back to 17 July rather than the initial 26 June release.

Just be aware that certain leaks and spoilers have unfortunately made their way out onto the internet. These images and clips allegedly spoil some pretty massive things for The Last of Us Part II so block all those keywords if you have to. The story is arguably the best part of The Last of Us so avoiding anything that could potentially ruin the experience is obviously paramount for fans.