It’s safe to say that many fans were expecting Sony to offer another look atThe Last of Us: Part 2at this year’s E3, but the highly anticipated followup to the 2013 critical darling was nowhere to be seen. The game’s creative director, Neil Druckmann, has taken to Twitter to explain whyThe Last of Us: Part 2was missing in action, and it all has to do with Naughty Dog’s next release,Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.
Basically, Naughty Dog didn’t wantThe Last of Us: Part 2to overshadowUncharted: The Lost Legacy, which was actually the game selected to openSony’s E3 press conferencethis year. While some fans may still be disappointed thatThe Last of Us: Part 2didn’t make an appearance at the show, this line of reasoning actually makes a great deal of sense.
After all,Uncharted: The Lost Legacyis a smaller project, serving as a standalone expansion forUncharted 4: A Thief’s End.The Last of Us: Part 2, meanwhile, is the sequel to one of the most critically-acclaimed games of last generation, and so it’s safe to say that there is already a great deal more hype behind it than the newUncharted. By showingThe Last of Us: Part 2at E3, it could have completely stolen the spotlight away from Naughty Dog’s next game.
And sinceUncharted: The Lost Legacyis next to bat for Naughty Dog, it makes more sense to feature it at this year’s E3 than a game that could still be years away. If anything, it would make more sense forThe Last of Us: Part 2to make an appearance at thePlayStation Experiencein December, since that was where the game was first announced last year, and the next one will take place afterUncharted: The Lost Legacylaunches.
So while it may be disappointing that fans didn’t get another look atThe Last of Us: Part 2at E3 2017, at least it wasn’t due to the game having a troubled development cycle. And while we can’t say for certain, with the third annual PlayStation Experience set to take place this December, one has to imagine that we will see the game again before the end of the year.
