PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS was made by Bluehole’s team, but its core idea began with Brendan Greene, known online as PlayerUnknown, who built the Battle Royale mode as a mod for the Arma series. Greene is the game’s developer/director and creative director. The standalone game was started in 2016 by Bluehole executive producer Chang-han Kim, who brought Greene into the project. The short answer is a collaboration, not a single author: Greene supplied the concept and creative direction, Kim initiated and led the standalone project, and Bluehole’s team built the game.
Who did what
Three people and one studio appear most often in accounts of PUBG’s origin. Their contributions are different, and treating them as one “creator” blurs the record.
| Person or team | Role in PUBG’s origin | What the sources say |
|---|---|---|
| Brendan Greene (PlayerUnknown) | Originator of the Battle Royale mode; developer/director and creative director | PUBG Support (2017) calls him “the developer/director of PUBG”; Xbox Wire (2017) describes him as Creative Director |
| Chang-han Kim (CH Kim) | Executive producer; initiated the standalone project and recruited Greene | Kim’s own 2017 account on Xbox Wire, introduced as PUBG’s executive producer and Bluehole vice president |
| Bluehole team | Developed the standalone game from scratch | Kim’s 2017 account says the team began with 40 people |
| Junhyuk Choi | Lead designer, as named in the Unreal Engine interview (2017) | Appears in the 2017 interview; the source does not detail his specific contributions |
Brendan Greene and the Battle Royale mod
PlayerUnknown is Brendan Greene’s nickname. PUBG Support’s official explanation reads: “It is the nick name of Brendan Greene, who is the developer/director of PUBG.” That page also says the core developer’s name was placed in the game title. The page dates from 2017, so it describes the naming at launch rather than a current credit list.
The mode that became the game’s identity came first as a modification. In a 2017 Unreal Engine interview, Greene explained where the work began:
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“I started making the Battle Royale game-mode as a mod for the Arma series four years ago, because I wanted to make something that I wanted to play.”
Greene named the looting, player-versus-player combat and non-linear progression of the DayZ mod as influences. He also said the Survivor GameZ event helped shape his design. The mod is the precursor, and the standalone game was a later project built on that idea.
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Bluehole and the standalone project
The move from mod to commercial game was driven by Kim. In his 2017 first-person account, Kim, introduced as PUBG’s executive producer and Bluehole vice president, said he had wanted to make a Battle Royale game and began a project in 2016. He then contacted Greene:
“I contacted Brendan right away and was glad to bring him into our project.”
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Kim also described the early team size: “The project started humbly with only 40 people on the team.” According to the same account, the team developed the game from scratch, ran a pre-alpha and two alpha tests in 2016, and then launched on Steam Early Access.
This is the point where the “who made it” answer becomes an organizational one. Greene’s mod established the mode and design direction; Kim’s project turned it into a studio production; the Bluehole team carried out the development. Saying Greene personally programmed or built the finished game is not supported by these sources.
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Key dates
| Date | Milestone | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Standalone project begins; Greene brought in; pre-alpha and two alpha tests held | Kim’s 2017 account (Xbox Wire) |
| March 2017 | Steam Early Access launch | Kim’s 2017 account (Xbox Wire) |
| December 12, 2017 | Xbox One Game Preview release | Xbox Wire (2017); a historical platform milestone, not a statement about current platform availability |
| 2018 | Greene presents “PLAYERUNKNOWN: From Mod Creator to Creative Director of PUBG” at GDC | GDC Vault catalog listing; the listing confirms the session title and speaker |
| March 23, 2026 | Official roadmap marks the game’s ninth anniversary and sets out ongoing development priorities | PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS official roadmap |
What the sources establish, and what they do not
- Established: Greene created the Battle Royale mode as an Arma mod and holds the developer/director and creative director roles in the official and press descriptions cited here.
- Established: Kim initiated the standalone project in 2016, recruited Greene, and led it as executive producer.
- Established: The initial standalone team was 40 people, according to Kim’s 2017 account.
- Not established: Current sales, revenue or player-count figures. The sources cited here do not provide them, so none are stated in this article.
- Not established: A current team headcount or current credit list. The 40-person figure is a starting size from 2016 to 2017.
- Time-sensitive: Present-day feature status. The March 23, 2026 roadmap is the most recent official status cited here, and roadmap plans can change.
Where the novel fits
The Unreal Engine interview says Greene’s Arma mod drew on the Japanese novel Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, along with its manga and film adaptations. The interview does not say the novel alone inspired PUBG, and no specific current edition or retail listing was verified here. Treat it as optional background on the mode’s origin, not as a required part of the game’s history.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the answer matters for readers
If you are looking for the person behind the Battle Royale idea, Greene is the answer. If you are looking for the company that made the standalone PUBG, the answer is Bluehole’s team, led at the project level by Kim. Credits that name only one of them are incomplete.
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