PUBG Netflix series: Donald Glover to direct and star

A PUBG Netflix series is officially in development. KRAFTON has announced that Netflix is making a live-action adaptation of its battle royale hit, with Donald Glover set to direct, write and star. There is no release date yet.

Glover is best known for Atlanta and Community, and his brother Stephen Glover joins him as a writer. It is the most high-profile screen project yet for the game that took battle royale mainstream.

PUBG Netflix series: key facts

According to KRAFTON, Donald Glover will direct, write, executive produce and star in the series. Stephen Glover is on board as a writer and executive producer. KRAFTON's entertainment arm, LV3H, is involved in development and production.

Why does Donald Glover matter here?

Glover is an actor, writer and musician. KRAFTON's announcement describes him as a two-time Emmy and Golden Globe winner. Deadline adds that his two Emmys, one for acting and one for directing, both came from Atlanta.

The brothers worked together on Atlanta as writers and executive producers, with Donald also directing. Deadline reports that PUBG came together after lengthy negotiations, with Netflix bringing Glover to the project.

There is no word yet on the plot or wider cast. Game Developer also notes that no timeline was given for the adaptation.

What story could a PUBG show tell?

On the surface, PUBG has no story: 100 players drop onto an island and the last one standing wins. But as IGN points out, the official website has built out a wider lore over the years.

In that lore, the Battlegrounds are the idea of a billionaire named Sergei Kalimnik. He was the only survivor of a deadly Soviet attack on the fictional island of Erangel in 1965. He later buys the island and forces people to fight until one remains. The story also ties back to a hunting tradition called "Magna Venari" that dates to the 15th century.

Netflix has not said whether the series will use this lore. Still, the writers have more to work with than the maps alone.

Not KRAFTON's first screen plan

Deadline notes that KRAFTON announced plans for a PUBG movie and TV series back in 2020. An animated series from Castlevania executive producer Adi Shankar, announced in 2021, was also previously in development at Netflix. This new project is a separate live-action show.

How big is PUBG?

PUBG launched in 2017 and quickly became one of the defining battle royale games. KRAFTON says the franchise holds seven Guinness World Records. According to Game Developer, it sold more than 75 million copies before going free-to-play.

Netflix's growing slate of game adaptations

PUBG joins a growing list of game adaptations at Netflix. Deadline lists a live-action Assassin's Creed series, a live-action Gears of War film, and animated shows based on Minecraft, Magic: The Gathering and Clash of Clans. We covered another side of Netflix's gaming push in our Xbox and Netflix deal story.

For more on the game itself, see our look at the Rondo map player record and the Erangel Classic update.

Frequently asked questions

When will the PUBG Netflix series come out?

There is no release date yet. KRAFTON and Netflix only said the series is in development, with no production schedule or release window.

Who is making the PUBG Netflix series?

Donald Glover will direct, write, executive produce and star. His brother Stephen Glover is a writer and executive producer.

Is the PUBG series animated?

No. The new project is a live-action series. Deadline notes that a separate animated series, announced in 2021, was previously in development at Netflix.

Sources

• KRAFTON press release (PR TIMES, Japanese)
• Deadline: PUBG series in the works at Netflix
• Game Developer: Netflix adapts KRAFTON's PUBG
• IGN: PUBG live-action series
• Steam: PUBG: Battlegrounds store page