Sony has reaffirmed that Team ICO’s The Last Guardian is still scheduled to hit PlayStation 4 in 2016.
Speaking during an interview with French publication Challenges, Philippe Cardon, Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe (SIEE) VP for Southern Europe, took the opportunity to reconfirm a number of upcoming PS4-exclusives for the remainder of the year.
“For many 2015 was to be the peak of the 8th generation before entering a phase of stability, but we believe that 2016 will be another year of growth. This will be a better year for software and a very big year for hardware. We expect to still sell many consoles. And then there is Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Sony’s main event this year. This is our biggest release of this year alongside with Gran Turismo and The Last Guardian. And of course, PlayStation VR is coming.”
Interestingly, Cardon failed to mention Horizon: Zero Dawn in the lineup of 2016 titles, which was recently rumored to have been delayed into next year.
The Last Guardian was announced at E3 2009 for PS3, and Sony later pinned a holiday 2011 release date on the project. However, the game ran into numerous development issues, chief among which resulted in creator Fumito Ueda transitioning into a freelance capacity and the game being delayed.
In recent years there have only been sporadic updates on the ambitious title, and at one stage it was believed to have been cancelled. However, Sony re-revealed the game at E3 2015 for the PS4, where it confirmed a 2016 window for the title.
Check out the latest screenshots on The Last Guardian here.