It looks like The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered won’t spend a long time being exclusive to PlayStation 5.
After its release on Sony’s flagship console earlier this year, the critically acclaimed title from Naughty Dog appears to be headed to PCs soon.
This potential move follows a trend that Sony set in motion in 2020 starting with Horizon Zero Dawn, which saw it slowly but steadily bring its best-selling exclusive titles to the so-called master race.
Sony's upcoming PC game is The Last Of Us Part 2 Remastered. Its announcement is expected next month, although the exact date is unknown. There will be a longer-than-usual period between the announcement date and the release day.#TheLastofUs
— Silknigth (@Silknigth) March 11, 2024
Naughty Dog initially launched The Last of Us Part 2 on PlayStation 4 in 2020 before it ultimately received an enhanced version on PS5 back in January 19. Now, according to the industry insider “Silknigth”, which correctly predicted the Ghost of Tsushima PC port in May, among other things, The Last of Us Part 2‘s arrival on PC is imminent.
While the exact release date remains under wraps, the insider speculates that Sony will extend the time between the announcement of a PC port and its respective launch. This strategy likely aims to build anticipation while ensuring a polished release after learning from past experiences after The Last of Us Part 1 faced significant issues at launch.
Sony’s decision to immediately port The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered to PC aligns with the earlier statements made by Hiroki Totoki about wanting to expand the company’s exclusive library to other platforms.
By bringing critically acclaimed titles like Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Forbidden West, and now, The Last of Us Part 2, to PC, Sony is introducing these games to new audiences while enhancing their longevity. This approach will only become more common as Sony recognizes the value of platform diversity in reaching wider audiences and maximizing revenue amidst a time of ballooning budgets and cost-cutting.
However, there’s genuine concern that The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered will suffer from similar issues to The Last of Us Part 1 on PC. The PC port, which arrived on PCs last year just as HBO’s The Last of Us was in full swing, faced performance issues and bugs and it required extensive post-launch updates. Iron Galaxy and Naughty Dog eventually sorted the PC port out and it didn’t see to have affected the show’s success. But the damage has already been done.
Hopefully, when (and not if) The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered gets a PC port, it enjoys a smoother launch than its predecessor.
As for its potential release date, Sony’s current release cadence of PC ports implies a 2-3 month gap between each other. If this keeps up, Sony will release at least two more PC ports: one in August/September and another in November/December.
Since a new PC port hasn’t been announced yet after Ghost of Tsushima and assuming there’s now a six-month gap between a PC port’s announcement and release, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered‘s PC port could be confirmed in June and released in November/December, months ahead of Season 2’s premiere on HBO.
Of course this is all speculation but Sony usually reserves its announcements for May or June, so it ultimately lines up. Then again, Final Fantasy 16‘s PC port might take up the November/December slot after the most recent update from its director.
With that said, we’ll have to wait and see what Sony has in store for PlayStation fans in a year where it won’t release new entries in its best-selling franchises.
