Donald Glover Set to Write, Direct and Star in Netflix's PUBG Live-Action Series

Netflix is developing a live-action series based on PUBG, the battle royale shooter that helped popularize the genre when it launched in 2017. Donald Glover is set to take on a heavy creative load, working as writer, director, executive producer and star.

The announcement puts one of gaming's biggest multiplayer brands in front of a much broader audience. PUBG: Battlegrounds has been one of the most-played games on PC for years, and its premise of dropping dozens of players onto a shrinking island and leaving only one standing gives a show plenty of built-in tension. Adaptations of popular games have become a steady part of the streaming business, and Netflix has been looking for projects with an established fan base to anchor its slate.

Glover is a notable choice for the job. He is best known as the creator and star of the FX series Atlanta and as the musician behind the Childish Gambino name, and his involvement suggests the series will be built around a strong creative voice rather than a straightforward game adaptation. Whether the show follows the battle royale format directly or uses the game's world as a backdrop has not been detailed in the initial report.

Details that would normally round out a story like this, including a cast beyond Glover, a release window and the show's overall premise, were not included in the source material. Expect more information as the project develops.