• Last week, Naughty Dog and PlayStation announced a delay to The Last of Us Part 2.
• PlayStation has canceled and begun issuing refunds for all digital pre-orders on the PS Store.
• Alternative release options are being explored, but it will take time to “shift and figure things out.”

Last week, PlayStation and developer Naughty announced a delay to The Last of Us Part 2. Logistics hurdles linked to the coronavirus pandemic reportedly drove the unpopular decision.

The move saw the highly-anticipated PlayStation exclusive budged from its May 29th release day, but both parties stopped short of providing any hint as to when we can expect the game to release.

PlayStation Refunds The Last of Us Part 2 Pre-Orders

That’s still true. But unfortunately, a new policy of the PlayStation Store pertaining to The Last of Us Part II digital pre-orders hints at what could be a substantial delay.

A message displayed prominently at the top of the PlayStation support portal reads :

The Last of Us Part II and Iron Man VR have been delayed. All digital pre-order consumers will automatically receive a refund. Please check your email for more details.

It’s not uncommon for digital distribution platforms to halt pre-orders in the wake of delays. Automatic refunds, on the other hand, are a rare occurrence.

In tandem, the listing for TLOU Part 2 no longer appears on the PlayStation Store. Previously live links no longer work, and the search function fails to return any results  (other than TLOU2 PS4 avatars and themes) when searching for the game.

Brace for a Substantial Delay

The suggestion is that both PlayStation and Naughty Dog are struggling to re-strategize the launch of TLOU Part 2. Naughty Dog’s creative director, Neil Druckmann, echoed this in an appearance on the Official PlayStation Blogcast last week .

Right now, we’re looking at all sorts of different options: what’s the best way to get it to all of our fans as soon as possible? But that’s going to take time for us to shift and figure things out, and also see where the world is at.

Among these options is the possibility of a digital-only release. Yet Sony’s decision to cancel and refund digital pre-orders doesn’t bode well for even that type of limited launch.

Druckmann’s deflated tone and Sony’s drastic policy imply that managing expectations may be the smartest course of action right now – we shouldn’t expect The Last of Us Part 2 anytime soon.