Netflix is developing a live-action series based on PUBG, Krafton’s battle royale shooter, with Donald Glover set to direct and star. Glover is also writing and executive producing the show with his brother Stephen Glover. Krafton and Netflix announced the project on October 29.
Michael Schaefer of Neon TV, Fam Udeorji of Gilga, and Taeseok Jang and Sujin Lee of LV3H will also executive produce. LV3H is Krafton’s entertainment division, which handles development and production as the publisher expands PUBG into film and television. Deadline reports the deal came together after lengthy negotiations, with Netflix bringing Glover onto the project.
No plot details, additional cast, production schedule, or release window have been announced.
Glover’s First Netflix Project
PUBG is Glover’s first project for Netflix. He spent several years under an overall deal at Amazon MGM, where he co-created and starred in the first season of Mr. & Mrs. Smith and co-created the 2023 series Swarm. He still has a first-look deal at Amazon. The Glover brothers previously worked together on FX’s Atlanta, which earned Donald Emmys for acting and directing. Earlier this year he voiced Yoshi in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
From Steam Early Access to Netflix
PUBG, originally titled PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, launched in 2017 and helped turn the battle royale format into one of gaming’s biggest genres. Its last-player-standing setup draws from Kinji Fukasaku’s 2000 film Battle Royale. The game holds seven Guinness World Records, including the first game to hit two million concurrent players on Steam, and it sold more than 75 million copies before switching to free-to-play. Krafton first announced plans for a PUBG movie and TV series in 2020.
Netflix’s Game Adaptation Slate
The series joins a long list of game adaptations at Netflix. The streamer has a live-action Assassin’s Creed series and a live-action Gears of War film in the works, along with animated series based on Minecraft, Magic: The Gathering, and Clash of Clans, plus an Overcooked competition show. Netflix already streams Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, and Devil May Cry, and it is partnering with Sega on several projects, including a Crazy Taxi film.
Sources: Deadline | Variety | The Hollywood Reporter | Gizmodo | Game Developer
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