PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS

Developer Brendan Greene Publisher Bluehole Studio Format Xbox One Release 2017

Brendan Greene must be enjoying life at the moment. Currently having phenomenal success on Steam with his battle royale multiplayer shooter, the self-styled PlayerUnknown is now set to clean up on consoles – and timed Xbox One exclusivity presumably didn’t come cheap. Whatever the cost, it’s quite the catch for Microsoft. The PUBG hype train shows no signs of slowing down, the formula bulletproof: 100-player deathmatches, pitting teams of up to four players against each other, with occasional random missile strikes and an evershrinking play area to prevent camping. There can only be one winner. Given its compulsive allure as a spectator sport, Battlegrounds might even be the game that finally gives Microsoft’s Twitch-alike Mixer service a reason to exist.