Netflix’s next live-action video game adaptation, PUBG, has some Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning clout behind it. Donald Glover is set to star, direct, co-write, and executive produce. His brother and frequent collaborator Stephen Glover is also aboard as co-writer and executive producer.
PUBG, which a Netflix press release describes as “the best-selling game from Krafton that globally popularized the battle royale genre,” is shorthand for “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” and was first released in 2017. As that description might lead you to believe, the game took inspiration from Kenji Fukasaku’s notoriously violent 2000 film Battle Royale, itself based on Koushun Takami’s novel-turned-manga.
“PUBG, a global cultural icon with seven Guinness World Records, is one of the world’s most enduring gaming franchises. Krafton is expanding the franchise into original entertainment content, with LV3H, its entertainment entity, involved in development and production,” the press release explains.
If you’re curious about those world records, they are as follows: fastest time for a Steam Early Access video game to sell one million units; fastest time for a Steam Early Access video game to gross $100 million in revenue; first non-Valve video game to be the most played game on Steam; most concurrent players for a Steam Early Access video game; most concurrent players on Steam for a non-Valve video game; most actively played video game on Steam; and first video game with two million concurrent players on Steam.
Long story short, PUBG is very popular.
PUBG heads into development as one of many game adaptations in the works at the streamer. As the press release reminds us, that includes a number of other big-name titles: a live-action Assassin’s Creed show, a live-action Gears of War movie, and animated shows drawing on Minecraft, Magic: The Gathering, and Clash of Clans.
Already ensconced on Netflix are series based on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, and Devil May Cry. Netflix is also partnering with Sega on a variety of titles, including a Crazy Taxi film.
That’s a long list of projects, but having the Glover brothers aboard (Atlanta, Guava Island) adds automatic cool to PUBG—especially with Donald Glover, whose other credits include Community, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, taking on the starring role. Are you excited to see what he’ll be bringing to the battlefield?
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