Krafton is developing a live-action PUBG series at Netflix, with Donald Glover attached to direct, write, executive produce, and star. The publisher announced the adaptation in a press release dated October 30, describing PUBG as its “best-selling game that globally popularized the battle royale genre” and “a global cultural icon with seven Guinness World Records.”
The two-time Emmy and Golden Globe winner known for Atlanta and Community takes on all four roles at once. Stephen Glover joins as a writer and executive producer. Michael Schaefer of NEON TV, Fam Udeorji of Gilga, and Taeseok Jang and Sujin Lee of LV3H round out the executive producing team.
What the announcement locks in
A single creator directing, writing, executive producing, and starring is uncommon even for a high-profile adaptation, and it signals a creator-driven series. Krafton said the project moves PUBG into “original entertainment content,” with LV3H, its entertainment entity, involved in development and production.
The release omits a release date, a plot synopsis, an episode count, and any cast beyond Glover. It also does not say when production begins, which markets the series will target, or what budget it will carry. Krafton frames the project as “in development at Netflix,” which puts scripts, a formal green light, and a premiere date still ahead.
From battle royale to a cross-media franchise
For most of its life, PUBG grew as a game and an esport. The release leans on that reach, calling PUBG “one of the world’s most enduring gaming franchises” and crediting it with popularizing the battle royale genre. That growth has not slowed on the game side. PUBG’s 2027 esports overhaul split its competitive regions and added India as a new market, while a Bentley collaboration brought branded vehicle skins earlier in October.
LV3H is Krafton’s entertainment division, and its involvement keeps development and production in-house. That gives the publisher the same control over the adaptation that it has held over the game. The move turns PUBG from a live-service title into a cross-media franchise. Krafton previously partnered with producer Adi Shankar to create and showrun an animated PUBG project, so the Netflix series is a further step down a path the publisher has already walked.
Netflix is betting on the PUBG name. Battle royale games rarely become prestige TV because their appeal is mechanical. The genre has produced few screen adaptations, and Krafton’s framing leans on scale, citing seven Guinness World Records and a player base that has stayed active long enough for the publisher to keep investing in esports and live-service updates. For a streamer, that built-in audience is the draw, and Glover’s attachment is how it plans to reach viewers beyond it. A series also gives the franchise a path to viewers who never touched the game.
What still has to be written
PUBG is a last-player-standing battle royale without a fixed protagonist or scripted plot to transplant, so the writers must invent the story from scratch. Krafton has not said whether the series will use the game’s island setting or build a new world around it. That leaves the project with a premise only, unusual ground for a prestige adaptation.
