Key facts
- Donald Glover will write, direct, executive produce, and star in the Netflix PUBG live-action series.
- Krafton released PUBG in 2017 as a battle royale game originally called PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and developed by Brendan Greene.
- Stephen Glover, Donald Glover's younger brother, will co-write and executive produce the series.
- No release date or production timeline has been announced for the PUBG live-action series.
Netflix is developing a live-action television series based on PUBG Battlegrounds, formerly called PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, with Donald Glover set to write, direct, executive produce and star, the companies said Oct. 29, 2026.
Glover will write, direct, executive produce and star in the series. His younger brother, Stephen Glover, will co-write and executive produce.
Executive producers are Michael Scaefer of Neon TV, Fam Udeorji of Gilga, and Taeseok Jang and Sujin Lee of LV3H. No release date or production timeline has been announced for the PUBG live-action series, and little else has been disclosed because the project remains in development.
Krafton released PUBG in 2017 as a battle royale game, a last-player-standing multiplayer format, originally called PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and developed by Brendan Greene. The South Korean company operates 19 creative studios. The game does not center on a core plot.
The game globally popularized the battle royale genre. Before becoming free-to-play, PUBG sold more than 75 million copies and has had many spin-offs of varying success.
A Netflix press release calls PUBG Krafton’s best-selling game and says it brought the battle royale genre to worldwide attention. PUBG holds seven Guinness World Records, including the fastest Steam Early Access sales to one million units and first game with two million concurrent players on Steam. Steam Early Access is a program that lets players buy and play games before completion. Records include fastest Early Access revenue of $100 million and first non-Valve game most played on Steam.
PUBG does not have a central plot, but official lore under PUBG UNIVERSE covers eras from the early 15th Century to the 22nd Century. Lore entries include a 1965 account of Sergei Kalimnick surviving 17 days on Erangel before Soviet soldiers discovered him, and a 1994 island battle won by Vir Solidarius. Netflix could choose an original plot unrelated to this established lore.
Donald Glover has won two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes and is known for Community, Atlanta, and film roles such as Solo: A Star Wars Story. His other credits include Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and his music includes the songs ‘Sober,’ ‘Redbone,’ and ‘Lithonia.’
The PUBG adaptation will be Donald Glover’s first project for Netflix. Glover recently signed a deal, a contract that gives a studio exclusive rights to a creator’s work, with Amazon MGM, where he co-created and starred in Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 2023, plans a second season, and co-created and executive produced Swarm in 2023.
Netflix’s other gaming adaptations include live-action Assassin’s Creed and Gears of War projects and animated series based on Minecraft, Magic: The Gathering, and Clash of Clans. Assassin’s Creed is a live-action series and Gears of War is a live-action feature film. Netflix already streams series based on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, and Devil May Cry, and is partnering with Sega on titles including a Crazy Taxi film.
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