Netflix is developing a live-action series adaptation of PUBG, Krafton’s battle royale video game franchise, with Donald Glover attached to direct, star in, write, and executive produce. His brother and frequent collaborator Stephen Glover will also write and executive produce.
Also executive producing are Michael Schaefer for Neon TV, Fam Udeorji for Gilga, and Taeseok Jang and Sujin Lee for Krafton’s entertainment arm, LV3H. The project stems from a first-look deal Netflix struck with Krafton, with Netflix subsequently bringing Donald Glover onto the project following lengthy negotiations. Story details are being kept under wraps for now.
PUBG, originally titled PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds after developer Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene, debuted in 2017 and has since set seven Guinness World Records, including being the first video game to reach 2 million concurrent players on Steam. The game drops up to 100 players onto an island to fight until one player remains. Krafton first announced plans for a PUBG film and TV series back in 2020; an animated series from Castlevania executive producer Adi Shankar was announced in 2021 but hasn’t received any public updates since.
This marks Donald Glover’s first project for Netflix. He previously held an exclusive overall deal with Amazon MGM Studios, which has since been renewed as a first-look arrangement, allowing him to work with other studios. He remains an executive producer on Amazon’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith and is expected to reprise his on-screen role in a limited capacity for Season 2, which began production this spring. Donald and Stephen previously collaborated on FX’s Atlanta, which Donald created and starred in; both brothers wrote and executive produced the series, with Donald also directing episodes and winning two Emmys for his acting and directing work on the show.
PUBG joins a growing roster of video game adaptations in development at Netflix, including a live-action Assassin’s Creed series, a Gears of War film, and animated adaptations of Minecraft, Magic: The Gathering, Devil May Cry, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, and Clash of Clans, along with an Overcooked competition series.
Neon’s involvement comes through Chief Content Officer Michael Schaefer, who joined the studio following Department M’s stake acquisition. Neon has won two Best Picture Oscars, for Sean Baker’s Anora and Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, and extended its Cannes Palme d’Or streak to seven consecutive wins in May with Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord. The studio is currently in post-production on its fourth Osgood Perkins film, The Young People, with upcoming releases including Fjord, James Gray’s Paper Tiger, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All of a Sudden, Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial, Chloe Domont’s A Place in Hell, and Bong Joon Ho’s Ally.
With Netflix now building out one of the industry’s largest video game adaptation slates and Donald Glover making his first move onto the platform after years anchored at Amazon, the pairing signals how aggressively streamers are competing for both established IP and proven creative talent within the same deal.