Last year's record-breaking Steam hit PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) ended up making its way to the Xbox Preview Program in December, but the title has been frustrating for Xbox gamers. While PUBG is known for its heart-stopping intensity and strong mechanics, it has also built up a reputation as one of the buggiest titles in recent history, and this issue is worse on Xbox One than on PC. Despite numerous patches, the game still has a long way to go.
Surprisingly, Microsoft announced at Gamescom that PUBG is leaving the Preview Program on September 4 — less than two weeks from now. Here's why I think officially launching the game this early is a big risk.
Optimization takes time
If games like the Master Chief Collection and The Division are any indication, restoring a broken game to intended stability levels is a large task that requires plenty of resources, time, and patience. These two games have been making a comeback, but the only reason why is because they've been given adequate amounts of all three of these things.
Because of this, it would be best for the PUBG developers to hold off on an official release for now, or at least until they finish their Fix PUBG campaign at the end of October. Rushing things is risky, and could even lead to the problems worsening. It's still not perfect on PC, which is another issue altogether.
An opportunity too good to miss
One major area that the Xbox One is currently lacking in compared to the PlayStation 4 is the exclusives department. The fact that PUBG will only on Xbox is significant. PUBG has the potential to be a competent system seller for Microsoft, especially since there has been zero news about a PlayStation 4 version for almost a year, but the game needs to work well when it officially comes out.
It would be in Microsoft's best interest to push PUBG's release back a while in order to ensure quality. While they'll make less money in the short term, they will most likely make a much heftier profit in the long run.
Competition is fierce
With upcoming titles like Battlefield V and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, as well as the ever-popular Fortnite to contend with in the battle royale war, PUBG is going to need to strive for perfection.
This matters even more for the Xbox version, where the performance is significantly worse than it is on PC. If the team behind PUBG don't take a careful and thorough approach to fixing the game, they could fail to get it into the state that it needs to be in so that it can compete with the other heavy-hitters.
Your thoughts
Do you think that Microsoft and PUBG Corp. are taking PUBG out of the Xbox Preview Program too early, or do you disagree with me and think that they're making the right call? Let me know your thoughts.
PUBG is available now for $29.99.
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