Over the weekend, a massive leak for Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 hit the internet. Big story beats were revealed in footage from a developer build of the game, putting major spoilers out in the wild months before the game’s launch.
At the time, The Last of Us Part 2 had no release date as its May 29th launch was delayed due to Covid-19. Today, Sony announced they’ll be releasing the post-apocalyptic title in June. We reached out to Sony for a statement regarding the leaks.
“We’re disappointed that anyone would release unauthorized pre-launch footage of The Last of Us Part II, disrupt years of Naughty Dog’s hard work and ruin the experience for fans worldwide,” said a rep from Sony Interactive Entertainment. “We want everyone to have the opportunity to play The Last of Us Part II at the same time and ask that viewing or sharing of the unauthorized footage be avoided.”
Naughty Dog also released its own statement on social media regarding the leaks for The Last of Us Part 2.
“We know the last few days have been incredibly difficult for you. We feel the same. It’s disappointing to see the release and sharing of pre-release footage from development. Do your best to avoid spoilers and we ask that you don’t spoil it for others,” reads the post. “The Last of Us Part 2 will be in your hands soon. No matter what you see and hear, the final experience will be worth it.”
There is speculation that the footage was released by disgruntled QA testers. Naughty Dog has been under fire this year for their working conditions that promote excessive crunch causing stress and burnout. Allegedly, the testers haven’t been paid since production on the game came to a halt following the delay. Of course, this isn’t confirmed so take it as just a rumor for now.
The Last of Us Part 2 will launch exclusively on PS4 on June 19th, 2020.
