Netflix and Krafton say a live-action PUBG series is in development, with Donald Glover set to write, direct, produce and star. No release date yet.
Netflix is making a live-action PUBG series, and Donald Glover is running it. Krafton and Netflix announced the project on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, according to Polygon, Deadline and Engadget, whose reports went up between about 1:30 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. ET. Glover will write, direct, executive produce and star.
What we know
PUBG is the battle royale shooter from South Korea's Krafton that started life in 2017 as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Polygon reports that Glover's brother Stephen Glover, whose credits include Atlanta, Swarm and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, joins as a writer and executive producer.
Other executive producers named by Polygon are Michael Schaefer for Neon TV, Fam Udeorji for Gilga, and Taeseok Jang and Sujin Lee for LV3H, Krafton's entertainment arm. Deadline says the deal came together after lengthy negotiations.
Why a PUBG show is a surprise
The game has almost no plot. A large group of players drops onto a map, grabs weapons and fights until one is left. Engadget points out that the game hints at a bloodsport tournament staged for elites, which could push a series toward Squid Game or Hunger Games territory. That is Engadget's read, not anything Netflix has said.
The game is still big. Polygon says it typically averages more than 300,000 concurrent players on Steam in a month and peaked at 1.29 million this year.
What is not confirmed yet
There is no release date, no episode count and no cast beyond Glover himself. Netflix and Krafton have not described the story, the tone or whether it will stay close to the game's setup. Deadline notes that an animated PUBG series from producer Adi Shankar was announced for Netflix back in 2021. Its status was not addressed in the reports we read.
Why it matters for U.S. readers
Netflix streams in the U.S., so this will land on the service most American subscribers already have. It also joins a growing slate of game adaptations there, including a live-action Assassin's Creed series and a Gears of War film, according to Polygon and Engadget.
Our take: the name on the project matters more than the game. Glover made Atlanta, and he is not an obvious pick for a shooter with no characters. That could mean something stranger than a standard action series, or it could mean the title is mostly a brand attached to his own idea. With no cast, script details or date, we would treat it as an early announcement and wait for a first look before expecting much.
Related reading
Picture credit: Krafton
