Gamers waiting to get their hands on the next Nathan Drake adventure this year are officially out of luck: the developers delayed the release of the game until next year, 2016.

Naughty Dog, the development team behind the game as well as its predecessors, announced the delay today on the official Sony PlayStation blog.

Although most gamers expected the title to arrive sometime later this year, probably around the holiday season, the news is probably a huge disappointment to fans of the Uncharted series.

"Since we showed you our first gameplay reveal of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, more of the game and story have come together, and it's become clear to us that this game is much more ambitious than we originally envisioned," writes Naughty Dog's Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann. "After spending so many years with Nathan Drake, he means a lot to the team, and telling the climactic chapter of his adventures is a task we don't take lightly - this game deserves every bit of the attention to detail, precise pacing, and nuanced storytelling Naughty Dog is known for."

Calling the choice to push back the release date "difficult," the development team explains that a later release date will give them the opportunity to make sure that Uncharted 4 meets the "high standards that gamers have come to expect from a Naughty Dog title."

The game, exclusive to Sony's PlayStation 4, continues the story of adventurer Nathan Drake. Beyond that, not much is known about the plot except that Nathan's brother will put in a appearance. It is also rumored that this could be the last Uncharted game in the series.

Three months ago, Sony released 15 minutes of gameplay footage of Uncharted 4.

The Uncharted series is one of PlayStation's greatest successes. Uncharted 3 sold nearly 4 million copies upon release. The delay of Uncharted 4, though, could put Sony in a lurch if they can't come up with another holiday release to take its place. Considering many of Sony's big PS4 titles have seen delays, it also sets a poor precedent for the company's game release schedule.

[Photo Credit: Naughty Dog]

Be sure to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page.