PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Xbox One Should Have Launched Better

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is probably the biggest game of 2017 and quite a surprising one considering how much it has grown in a short time frame, when it did exclusively arrive on Xbox One it should have had a better launch. The Xbox One really needed a big win here with this release. It was a limited year in terms of exclusive releases and with the Xbox One X just releasing there shouldn't have been a better showcase for the platform. The hottest game that everyone's wild about, proudly showcasing the most powerful console ever and the performance of the game is just disappointing.

It definitely seems like it can get cleaned up there for a smooth experience, but considering the backing for the title this should have been solid from the get go. I understand it's an early access title which means things should be broken and adjusted later, here it just runs poorly. Not only did the game get a huge backing from Xbox for release, it also had help from The Coalition with development for the platform. That studio is of course responsible for Gears of War 4, a technical wonder on the platform and they both run off the same engine. It's just somewhat troubling that with all the support it didn't deliver a smoother initial release.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Xbox One Should Have Launched Better
I'm not expecting perfection since they are on the Xbox Game Preview, but just something that feels more fluid. It currently runs on the best console available at a 4k resolution with medium textures and anti aliasing, you can tell this by using a keyboard with the game on Xbox One X. If they can get this going smoothly at that level I'll be completely satisfied. It's not at all by any means a bad time, it's still really fun to play though it just needed that better launch polish. It doesn't seem to really matter that the game has any issues however since the early sales for the Xbox release are absolutely insane. Still, it could have reached just that much further to truly help showcase the power of the Xbox One X and the other consoles in the family while giving the platform a truly strong exclusive to start the new year on.

With the hype around it and so much anticipation this should have been an absolute perfect hit for Xbox out the door, it's probably already going to do well on the platform though some are soured by this initial reveal. I've been playing since the day prior to it releasing on Xbox One and it's not the worst thing performance wise. It does make me feel a little unsettled since it's unstable, though I have confidence it'll get cleaned up over time and I do hope it does. This could be a very shining example of what Xbox is hoping to bring going onwards into the next year. The game just would have had a bigger impact for the console if it had launched with performance being more stable.

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Gamerheadquarters Reviewer Jason Stettner