*This post contains spoilers from a leaked version of The Last of Us Part 2*
Over the weekend, previously unreleased footage from the forthcoming The Last of Us: Part 2 was leaked on YouTube. The leaked footage is a mix of both gameplay and seemingly important story beats in cutscenes, telling us a little about how the new game will play and, possibly, a lot about how its story plays out.
Videos by VICE
Troy Baker, Joel’s voice actor, is clearly heard and a watermark in the bottom left hand corner of the footage gives a build number and dates from February and March. The footage is still live on various forms on YouTube and other streaming sites.
The clips vary in length and content, but seem to focus on the story. In one seven minute clip, Elle confronts Joel about the events at the climax of The Last of Us. It’s a huge spoiler that revolves around resolving tension the last game ended with, and it’s not the only major spoilers in the leaks. The footage also shows Elle’s relationship with the woman she kissed in the E3 trailer, a potential level list, and Joel’s wider role in the game. Players on Reddit and Twitter have attempted to piece together the entire plot of The Last Of Us: Part 2 from the leaked footage.
“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,” a Sony Interactive Entertainment spokesperson told VICE. “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 tweeted the following statement:
The Last of Us 2 was set to come out at the end of May, but Sony delayed the game indefinitely on April 2 and hasn’t set a new release date. At the time, Naughty Dog said the game is ‘nearly done.’ Sony has said it wanted to wait out the pandemic to “[provide] the launch experience our players deserve.”
Reports from inside Naughty Dog are of a studio burning itself out from the inside due to crunch. “This game is really good, but at a huge cost to people,” one employee told Jason Schreier of Kotaku.
Update: This story has been updated with comment from Sony Interactive Entertainment.