Netflix and Krafton have confirmed that PUBG is being developed as a live-action television series, adding one of gaming’s biggest battle royale brands to the streaming service’s growing adaptation slate.
The project will be led by Donald Glover, who is attached to direct, write, executive produce and star. His brother, Stephen Glover, will also write and executive produce, bringing credits from Atlanta, Swarm and Mr. & Mrs. Smith to the production.
A major creative team for PUBG
Additional executive producers include Michael Schaefer for Neon TV, Fam Udeorji for Gilga, plus Taeseok Jang and Sujin Lee from LV3H, Krafton’s entertainment division.
Glover’s involvement gives the adaptation a notable creative angle. He is known for Atlanta and Community, while Stephen Glover has worked across several television projects. The announcement does not yet reveal the story, cast beyond Donald Glover, episode count or production schedule.
Why PUBG is a natural choice for Netflix
PUBG is the umbrella name for Krafton’s shooter franchise. It began in 2017 with PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, later renamed PUBG: Battlegrounds, the battle royale game widely credited with helping establish the genre’s modern formula.
The game continues to attract a substantial audience. On Steam alone, PUBG: Battlegrounds averages more than 300,000 concurrent players in a typical month. Its peak this year reached 1.29 million concurrent players, although that remains below the all-time high of more than 3.2 million.
The game’s success also helped shape the battle royale market that followed. Epic Games adopted the format for Fortnite, drawing heavily from the structure popularised by PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
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Krafton’s expanding PUBG universe
Krafton has continued to develop the brand beyond its original battle royale release. Planned or announced spinoffs include the extraction shooter PUBG: Black Budget and the roguelite PUBG: DED.NET. Development of PUBG: Black Budget has since been cancelled.
The franchise’s move into live-action follows Krafton’s wider interest in entertainment, with LV3H serving as the company’s entertainment division on this production.
Netflix’s growing game adaptation slate
PUBG joins a broad selection of game-related projects at Netflix. The service is developing a live-action Assassin’s Creed series, a live-action Gears of War film, animated projects based on Minecraft, Magic: The Gathering and Clash of Clans, and an Overcooked-inspired competition series.
Netflix is also working on further seasons or projects connected to Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch and Devil May Cry. Its upcoming Sega-related slate includes a film adaptation of Crazy Taxi.
The announcement also arrives alongside uncertainty about the previously discussed standalone Lando Calrissian Star Wars series that the Glover brothers had been developing with Lucasfilm. The supplied announcement does not state what will happen to that project.
No release date has been announced
Netflix and Krafton have not provided a release date for the PUBG television series. Until more details arrive, the confirmed points are the live-action format, Donald Glover’s multi-role involvement, Stephen Glover’s writing and producing role, and the wider production team.
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