The crazy new game that pits 100 people against each other on a deserted island will come to consoles, likely this year
Intense and suspenseful, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds isn’t even fully complete but has grossed US$60 million already. Korea-based team behind it is working on XBox One version, PlayStation 4 version likely too
A bizarre and brilliant new video game is exploding in popularity across the world. The game isn't even fully complete – it's available in “early access” on game portal Steam for US$30 – but it's already grossed more than US$60 million.
It's called PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and, on the surface, it looks like a run-of-the-mill shooter.
Each player is just one of 100 people stuck on a deserted island that's rife with weapons. The objective: be the last person alive when the match ends. You have one life, limited ammo, and can withstand a few bullets at most.
Social media posts about the game
A post shared by Ally (@twomgovercsquared) on Apr 30, 2017 at 11:35pm PDT
It's an intense, smart, suspenseful game, but there's just one problem at the moment: it's only available on PC. However, there's good news on the horizon, as the game will head to home game consoles.
“We have a team working already on looking to port it to at least the Xbox [One]," says the game's creative director, Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene. "We're looking at both consoles of course, but we have no time frame for both."
Since the game is still in early access – purchasable and playable, but not complete – it's going to be a while before Battlegrounds makes its way from PC to consoles. But rest assured: it's coming.
“We have no time frame yet exactly on Xbox [One] or PlayStation [4], but we are looking at it," Greene says.
Since Greene and his team at Bluehole Studios in South Korea are planning to have the PC version completed in around the next five months, an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 port (or both) could be ready by the end of 2017.
“Ports to consoles isn't that hard," Greene says. It's a measure of the game engine that Battlegrounds was built with, which is called Unreal Engine 4. It's the software that Greene and his team used to build Battlegrounds and it's particularly useful for making a game that will function on several different platforms (PC, consoles, mobile, etc.). “It's a great engine to use for multi-platform," he says.
Maybe most importantly of all, it sounds like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 ports of Battlegrounds are already in the works. “We have a great producer and he can manage a lot of stuff,” Greene says. “We have the resources to focus on getting the PC version done, but also look at how quickly we can bring it to other platforms.”
That's not all that Greene and Co are working on. “We have other game modes we want to add, and there's modding as well down the road,” he notes.
