The timing of the delay has raised more than a few eyebrows, seeing as the initial February release date was only announced a month ago. Developer Naughty Dog revealed at the time that certain portions of the game were already in a playable state, and that they had deliberately avoided revealing it until they were confident of their release date.
It speaks volumes about Naughty Dog's confidence in The Last Of Us that they felt the game would generate hype in a shorter run up to release. Though the game is still expected to enjoy hugely successful sales figures, a three month delay announced so soon after the initial reveal has undoubtedly dampened some expectations.
According to the game's director Neil Druckmann "we simply didn't have enough time to bring the entire game up to a level of polish we would call Naughty Dog quality"
According to the game's director Neil Druckmann, the team was "closing out sections of the game, and we realized we simply didn't have enough time to bring the entire game up to a level of polish we would call Naughty Dog quality. At this point we were faced with two options: compromise parts of the game or get more time."
Crunch time and excess pressure on developers to meet deadlines has been a continuous issue in the industry. As disappointing as a delay might be, Druckmann's promise "to finish everything to our level of satisfaction while also reducing stress on the team" marks a positive step.
There was no news on multiplayer Factions mode, suggesting it will remain absent until after the game’s launch.