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PUBG and Fortnite should really be on Nintendo Switch already

Airdrop them to me now

PUBG and Fortnite should really be on Nintendo Switch already

The world can't get enough of the Battle Royale genre, a new(ish) offshoot of the online multiplayer shooter. Players airdrop into an open map, scavenge for weapons, then get funnelled towards one another in a last-man-standing shootout.

Fortnite mobile vs PUBG Mobile - Which is best?

Two particular games have come to dominate this emerging sub-genre: PlayerUnknown's Battleground (PUBG) and Fortnite. Millions of people are now playing these games across a wide range of systems.

Which leads me to ask one simple question: why the heck aren't they available on the Nintendo Switch already? They really should be, you know.

Switching things up

Nintendo sold almost 15 million Switch consoles in 2017, despite it only launching last March. By way of a comparison, its predecessor the Wii U took five years to sell 13.5 million.

While it's only been around for a year, then, the makers of PUBG and Fortnite don't need to wait and see if the Switch is going to be a success. It already is.

You might argue that Nintendo is traditionally rubbish at online, and that the Switch online offering isn't really up to the standard of its console rivals. Perhaps this isn't the place for two of the hottest online shooters of recent times.

Just looking at the success of Splatoon 2, though, tells you that a popular online shooter can indeed thrive on Switch - both technically and in terms of player demand.

Talking of which, what about those Switch demographics? If it's predominantly a bunch of Kirby-playing kiddies, surely a pair of hardcore online shooters aren't going to make much of a dent.

Nope, sorry. That's not a good reason either. Early polls of the Switch's US audience revealed a remarkably similar demographic to the PS4, with 86% of Switch owners aged 18 or over.

Mobile infantry

There's both the will and the market environment for Switch versions of PUBG and Fortnite, but there's still the question of whether it's technically possible. After all, this is essentially a handheld machine built on limited mobile technology.

But that last point turns out to be another mark in the 'for' column rather than in the 'against'.

If you're a regular reader of PG, then you're probably a smartphone gamer. So you doubtless know already that both PUBG and Fortnite have been released on iOS. Android gamers also have PUBG, with Fortnite on its way.

These are more than passable versions, too - particularly in the case of Fortnite, which is pretty much the complete experience squeezed onto a phone. It's quite remarkable.

If you can get recognisable versions of these games running on mobile technology, then, there's surely no reason we couldn't have them running on Switch in super short order. Indeed, they'd doubtless run and play even better on Switch with its uniform customised hardware, game-optimised OS and physical controls.

So come on Bluehole and Epic. There really is no reason not to bring PUBG and and Fortnite to Switch - like, now.

Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.