Mass Effect 4 and Fallout 4 aren’t the only titles fans are hoping to see E3. The Last Guardian is also on that list, holding a top position, and for good reason. Potentially a flagship title for Sony, The Last Guardian has so far been shrouded in mystery, but there’s a really good chance we’ll be seeing the game at E3 in June this year.
The Last Guardian was announced at Sony’s E3 2009 press conference, shortly after a proof-of-concept trailer for the game had leaked. The first evidence of the game’s troubled development became apparent the following year when the game was absent from Sony’s E3 press conference. Sony representative Scott Rhode was coy regarding the game’s development, claiming that the decision not to show it at E3 that year was “strategic.” It turns out, Rhode wasn’t completely full of it, as Sony chose to show the game off at Tokyo Game Show a few months later and give the game a late 2011 release date.
In early 2011, the game’s creative director Fumito Ueda stated that the game was still on track, but also hinted at the game’s troubled development. The game was absent from both E3 2011 and TGS 2011, and Sony eventually confirmed that the game would not release in 2011. Things got weirder when, in December 2011, Ueda announced that he was leaving Sony. Ueda later spoke vaguely about his departure, telling Edge, “It’s difficult to explain, but in a nutshell it was because I felt a sense of crisis within myself about a lot of things. It’s hard to [say exactly what], but in terms of my own growth and career and so on.” Presently, Ueda continues to work on The Last Guardian as a freelancer.
Sony has officially stated that The Last Guardian is still in the works; Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, said shortly after E3 2013 that the game “is in active development.” “It’s not hiatus at all,” Yoshida said. “But we are not ready to reintroduce it. When we are ready, we will do that. Please wait.” A few months later at the GameTrailers PS4 Lauch Event, Yoshida was again asked about the game, saying that “It looks pretty” and that he played the game, but didn’t specify whether it was on PS3 or PS4.
More recently, in March 2014, Sony’s Scott Rhode stated that the game was “absolutely in the mix” at Sony. “It’s really cool that people are still interested in it, and we’re trying to make the best thing we can out of The Last Guardian,” said Rhode.
Will this finally be the year the game reappears? And if it does reappear, will Sony prep it for a surprise 2014 release? Sony’s fall lineup is sparse, but it’s unlikely to hit shelves this year.