PUBG had already capitalized on massive worldwide interest through distribution on mainstream platforms – setting off the global battle-royale craze that continues to dominate the industry – but those platforms didn’t deliver enough for pre-orders. And for safety and security, PUBG’s pre-order payments partner would need top-shelf fraud protection.
PUBG Corporation’s parent company Bluehole deftly recruited eventual creative director Brendan Greene (ironically, known by his online handle “PlayerUnknown”) to drive the development of a “king of the hill”-style mod-turned-title with randomized items and environments, drawing story inspiration from the book series The Hunger Games and the 2000 Japanese film Battle Royale. It has since become a massive global success.
Previously, Bluehole developed fantasy-themed MMORPG TERA, originally released in South Korea in 2011 before expanding to North America and EU in 2012, and again to a worldwide audience via the PS4 and Xbox One consoles in 2018.
A single day of coordination work with Xsolla’s integration and account managers gave PUBG a far broader reach, one that went beyond mainstream digital distribution platforms to include unbanked and underserved players around the world, plus:
At the end of 2017, PUBG was officially released worldwide for PC — and continued to benefit from their Xsolla integration after their Android mobile release in March 2018.
PUBG has literally changed the game across multiple genres, redefined the appeal and execution of battle royale gaming, and secured a place in gaming history. And by working with Xsolla, they’ve helped to ensure that every player around the world who wants to be a winner can take aim at getting that chicken dinner.