The Last of Us Part 2 Leaker Has Been Identified By Sony

Sony shared another update on The Last of Us Part II this week to say it's identified the primary individuals responsible for leaking critical parts of the game online. Contrary to what was originally thought about these leaks, however, it doesn't seem that the leaker was a disgruntled employee or anyone even directly associated with either Naughty Dog or Sony. The latest statement from Sony about the situation said that the individuals responsible for the leaks were not affiliated with either the publisher or the developer of The Last of Us Part II, though the statement didn't name who the leakers were or what further actions would be taken.

GamesIndustry.biz received the statement from Sony about the leaks and said the company claimed it'd identified those responsible for the leaks. While no more information was given on the matter regarding who those individuals might be or how the information got out in the wild in the first place, Sony said the situation was part of an ongoing investigation. Because of that, it's unclear how much more information we'll get about this in the future regarding the circumstances of the leak, but hearing more about it later seems inevitable.

The leaks for The Last of Us Part II surfaced between the time that the game was delayed indefinitely and the day when it got a new release date that'll have the game releasing in June. For those who haven't seen the leaks online, you're better off staying away from any kind of untrusted forum or thread pertaining even remotely to The Last of Us Part II, though even that isn't a foolproof plan. People have been dropping the leaks in random PlayStation threads on Twitter and in Twitch chats for unrelated projects, so it seems almost nowhere is safe from the spoilers.

Naughty Dog responded to the leaks after they happened with the studio's vice president Neil Druckmann saying he was "heartbroken for the team" as well as for the fans who were waiting on the game. He added that the team is still "incredibly excited" to get the game in players' hands and asked that people avoid spoilers or spoiling the game for others.

As is the case with any leaks though, the stuff that's been shown online is only a snippet of the game, sometimes boiled down to just talking points. People have been adamant about others disregarding the leaks since they don't present the full scope of what's planned for the game.

We'll see what that story looks like in full when The Last of Us Part II releases on June 19th.