Battle royale pioneer Brendan ‘PlayerUnknown’ Greene will no longer lead PUBG

For the past five years, Brendan Greene’s life has been about the battle royale genre, initially crafting the ARMA 2 mod, consulting on H1Z1 and eventually creating the highly successful PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Greene has announced that he will be handing over PUBG’s reins, stepping down as the head of PUBG Corp in order to focus on a new research division.

PUBG will now be led by Taeseok Jang, while Greene remains remain “consulting creative director” on the game as he pursues other ventures. This will lead Greene to relocated from his previous home in Seoul to Amsterdam, forming ‘PUBG Special Projects’, a division under PUBG Corp which is dedicated to research and game development.

Greene’s impact on the battle royale genre has been undeniable, taking inspiration from the 2000 Japanese film by the same name and adapting hardcore death match into the larger scale battlegrounds we’re used to today. PUBG alone was a self-described “incredible journey” for the creator, popularising the genre that paved the way for high-calibre competitors like Fortnite, Call of Duty Blackout and most recently Apex Legends.

“We are tasked with exploring, experimenting, and creating new technologies, tools, pipelines, and gameplay; but for me, it is more than that,” explains Greene, who will continue to devote himself to online experiences. “Together with a team of game developers and researchers, we will explore new possibilities of interaction and connection within the game space.

“I've spent the past two years on the road meeting so many of you at conventions and other industry events, which has been a fantastic experience, but I missed having a place to call home and a room to play games. So, I can't wait to start this new journey with a new team in a new city, play some games again, and see what the future holds.”

KitGuru Says: Greene is one of the most high profile video game developers in the world thanks to PUBG, so it’ll be interesting to see where he’ll go from here. Knowledge is power, so research is a smart way to go given the popularity of games-as-a-service titles.  

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