‘The Last of Us’ Sees A Small Delay

Bad news for those of you who were looking forward to picking up The Last of Us on May 7: Sony and Naughty Dog confirmed today that the game has been pushed back from its intended release date, and will now see a worldwide release on June 14.

It’s not the best news, but Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann assured fans in a post on the PlayStation Blog that the decision was a necessary one in order to bring the game up to the studio’s high standards for quality.

“As we entered the final phase of development for The Last of Us, we came to realize just how massive Joel and Ellie’s journey is. But instead of cutting corners or compromising our vision, we came to the tough decision that the game deserved a few extra weeks to ensure every detail of The Last of Us was up to Naughty Dog’s internal high standards,” Druckmann wrote.

“As a team we pride ourselves on setting a very high quality bar for every aspect of our games – gameplay, story, art, design, technology and more. We want to make sure The Last of Us raises that bar even further – for ourselves, and most importantly, for you, our fans.”

The wait is pretty short, fortunately, so that certainly helps in softening the blow.

If this is the first you’ve heard of The Last of Us, the game is a new series from Naughty Dog, the studio behind the hit Uncharted franchise. The game takes place in a city overrun by nature after a fungus kills much of the population, leaving those left behind to fight over essential items.

Players take on the role of Joel, a headstrong gun-for-hire who is hired to escort 14-year-old Ellie out of a quarantine zone. With the AI in control of Ellie, the duo will have to fight their way through infected humans and other survivors as they make a trek across the US.

To see how The Last of Us plays, you can check out the E3 2012 gameplay demo below.