One Analyst Believes Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds Will Do Incredibly Well On Xbox One

Ever since it was officially announced on Xbox One last month, Playerunknown's Battlegrounds has been attaining some huge buzz in terms of anticipation – and it doesn't hurt that the PC version has managed to sell five million copies, even before the game's "official" release. (It's currently in Early Access.)

That said, Michael Pachter, the analyst for Wedbush Securities who's no stranger to providing a bit of foresight into the game industry, believes that Battlegrounds will be a big hit for the Xbox One when it inevitably releases.

"The one exclusive we have forgotten about, which is also timed, clearly, is PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and that will be a big deal," he said. "I don't know what it will cost, I think it will be $30 or $40, but I think that will outsell most of those Japanese games on PS4, and that's Xbox exclusive for a while- probably through the Holiday, and then it gets announced for PS4 next year, but that game will help sell systems. That game is incredible, and I can't wait for it to hit consoles."

He also noted the power of timed exclusives with consoles, as Battlegrounds will likely stay on Xbox One for some time before the opportunity of a PS4 version arises. "Well, it's a good marketing gimmick. I think it's kind of like, let's say the first DLC pack for Call of Duty comes out 30 days early for PS4, well, if you don't have a PS4, if you have an Xbox, and your friends have Xbox, it doesn't matter. Because you're not playing with PS4 people. So you're all getting it the same day, even if it is 30 days later.

"So I don't actually think it makes a difference at all, except for people who don't have a console yet. And yes, there are a lot of people who don't have a console yet, and they will be influenced by their friends, and so that 2:1 PS4 advantage means that twice as many people will tell their friends to get PS4 as Xbox One. So, I mean, it helps, but I think that ratio is key here."

We'll see how well Battlegrounds performs when it eventually releases for Xbox One, likely early next year (though there's a possibility it could be bumped up for the holidays). As for a PC release, that hasn't been finalized either, so we'll see.