PUBG Arena
The original battle royale that popularized the genre.
PUBG: Battlegrounds, originally titled PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), is a 2017 battle royale game published by Krafton and developed by Krafton's PUBG Studios. It is played from a third-person or first-person perspective, with up to one hundred players parachuting onto an island to fight until one remains. The safe area decreases over time, forcing encounters. The game was renamed PUBG: Battlegrounds in 2021 and has been free-to-play for all platforms since January 2022.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- PUBG Corporation (KRAFTON)
- Genre
- Battle royale; First-person shooter
- Platforms
- PC (Windows)
- iOS
- Android
- Business model
- Free-to-play
- Match size
- Up to 100 players per lobby
- Team modes
- Solo
- Duo
- Squad
- Key maps
- Erangel
- Miramar
- Sanhok
- Vikendi
- Karakin
Lore & Background
The game's concept was led by Brendan 'PlayerUnknown' Greene, inspired by the 2000 Japanese film Battle Royale and based on his mods for ARMA 2 and ARMA 3. It was developed under his creative direction at PUBG Studios, a subsidiary of Krafton (formerly Bluehole).
Reader's Guide
Players can enter matches solo, duo, or in teams of up to four. Each match starts with parachuting from a plane onto one of eight maps (1 to 64 square kilometers). Players search for weapons, vehicles, and armor. The playable area shrinks periodically, with players outside taking damage. Random bombed regions and loot drops from planes create additional encounters. A full round takes no more than 30 minutes. In-game currency earned from matches is used to purchase cosmetic crates. As of 2026, all official competitive modes are only in third-person.
Did You Know?
- The game was first released for Windows via Steam's early access beta in March 2017, with a full release in December 2017.
- The game set seven Guinness World Records.
- Until Q3 2022, the game accumulated $13 billion in worldwide revenue, including from its mobile version.
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