Firstly, yes that's a slightly misleading headline. PlayerUnknown's BattleGrounds is a PC smash hit and, more importantly, a console exclusive to Xbox. So in its current form, we'll likely never see PUBG on the Nintendo Switch. Naughty me, sorry. Got you reading though, didn't it.

It can be hard to predict trends in gaming; remember the Batman Arkham series having a 3D option in the first two games? And almost a year ago the Switch was tentatively awaiting it's launch with many suggesting it could be the end of Nintendo as we know it. At the moment, however, battle royale games are generating the biggest buzz. Epic games didn't just shoe horning the last man standing genre into Fortnite but has actually made its own stamp and, according to recent reports, is the most played battle royale game in terms of concurrent users.

And yet if 2017 was a year dominated by Switch headlines and success, in many ways it's equal was the hype and success of PUBG on the PC and it's subsequent console debut on the Xbox One.

The game first launched in March 2017 on PC and quickly became a hit, now having sold twenty four million copies in total and boasting three million concurrent users. This success was in no small part thanks to the comical glitches and bugs in the game that made falling through the floor, getting stuck on scenery and levitating cars something of the norm. For some games this might have sounded a death knell, and yet thanks to some keen streamers who not only embraced these amusing moments but persisted with the game itself, and a continuing input from the PUBG Corp at smoothing things out and constantly making the game a better experience, the game has not only been a smash hit but has almost certainly become a part of the zeitgeist. The Xbox One release in December 2017 has seen four million players take to the battle ground, an impressive feat for a game still very much in beta on the console.

So how would PUBG, Fortnite or a battle royale game of a similar vein, fit in on the Switch? The hybrid nature of the console would be ideal for a battle royale type game, in my opinion, if for no other reason because the game never stops. Think about it, there's a finite number of moons in Super Mario Odyssey, and even the korok seeds in Breath of the Wild dry up eventually. And yet with PUBG your goal is to be the last person alive out of 100 from that play session, and when you either achieve that goal or get killed along the way, you dive straight back in to another game and begin the journey all over again.

And every journey is a different one. I've now played about 30 hours of PUBG on my Xbox One and, sure, I have certain tactics I use, and I know if I run along a main road (which brings its own dangers) I'll likely find a vehicle; but every kill, every death and almost everything leading up to those moments feels unique every time.

The Monster Hunter series is one I've enjoyed on the 3DS and feel it would have been perfect for a Switch release (in the west at least). It's great to see Monster Hunter World has been so well received and sold well too on PS4 and Xbox One, but a game you can sink 300/400 hours into at least would work wonders on the Switch. As well as World has done, Capcom will surely be looking at how well the Switch has sold and thinking there is potential for the Monster Hunter brand to build on World with the inclusion of a Switch version.

These types of almost endless games have a natural home on the Switch because the tag line of "play any where with any one" means the gaming never has to stop. If you've got 5 hour single player experiences and something that never really ends, you're likely to pick the latter up as well as the former, because it's something you can keep going back to again and again long after your more traditional game has come to its conclusion.

Of course a big caveat to this entire idea is Nintendo's history of online set ups and their distinct feature lacking arrivals. Firstly, voice chat. If you're playing duo or squad modes on PUBG, you need to be able to communicate with your team mate. When my son is asleep I've played duo mode with a friend using WhatsApp...yeah it's not great (although we did have a finish of number 3 after a few games together) so voice chat is a necessity. Secondly, matchmaking. How robust is the app and the paid service going to be for finding friends and setting up games with them, or even just solo play with randoms. Who handles the servers? Is it done at OS level or will it have to be in game?

If there's one thing we've seen with the launch of PUBG on the Xbox One, it's that it needs as much help from the platform holder as possible. The game has been placed on the "Game Preview" platform as it has so many bugs and issues, making it untenable to charge full price for it. I do wonder if that was the initial plan, or one put in place when they realised the game was going to release as a bit of a mess. Microsoft seems to have stepped in to help quite a bit, and you wonder if Nintendo would fill that role as well, or would rely on the company themselves to sort it out before releasing the game.

And thirdly, and obviously, is that the Switch can't be online all the time due to its play anwhere nature, so where does that leave a game that requires a huge online playing field? Well, obviously mobile data is an option, and having played ARMS using my phone 4G I can tell you no quality is lost during the experience. But, and allow me to get carried away for a moment, just imagine 100 Switch owners all in the same arena to be crowned PUBG champion. To go back to Monster Hunter again, I don't care how many bells and whistles you put on the online play, nothing will compare to playing with your friends in the same room and physically hugging and jumping around at the end of an epic battle or indeed commiserate and point the finger of blame when things don't go to plan.

Local multiplayer is and always has been Nintendo's true love and what better way to showcase that than having a 100 player free for all available on your console. Yes, of course getting 100 friends together is fantasy stuff, yet alot of the Switch is about potential and what you *could* do with the console. What an advert it would be. If you REALLY wanted to, you could get 100 people together and play this game only on the Switch.

We know for definite we won't be seeing PUBG itself on the Switch any time soon, although PUBG Corp CEO Chang Han Kim has said he'd like to see the title eventually release on every system. Regardless, it won't be seeing the light of day come the Switch online launch in September. Fortnite's creators have made musings about a Switch version and have apparently said that it's under consideration, but again nothing concrete has been confirmed.

Battle Royale games are, as it stands, the current and next big things in gaming. If Nintendo could harness this wave into something tangible come September time, $19.99 per year (and the UK/European equivalent) could seem like an absolute steal.