Ten Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About PUBG

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is more than just a tactical military-sim Battle Royale. The game has a unique history, from the origin of its name all the way to the inspiration behind its many maps and their locales.

While millions of people around the world play PUBG, not very many are familiar with the game’s multitude of secrets.

Here are ten facts about PUBG that may surprise you.

Click to enlarge

PUBG Launched With A $0 Marketing Budget

Bluehole Inc, the original developers of PUBG, launched the game with zero dollars allocated to budgeting. PUBG’s grand success came purely off of community-driven hype and word of mouth.

To do this, PUBG took advantage of the Battle Royale craze. At the time, ARMA 3 and H1Z1 were the only true Battle Royale options. These games saw massive popularity on both YouTube and Twitch. PUBG’s plan was to promote their game for free through Twitch rather than spend money on marketing — and it worked.

At the time, this was a rather innovative strategy. Nowadays, Twitch and YouTube are a major part of a game’s marketing strategy.

The True Identity Of PlayerUnknown

PlayerUnknown is a real person. The mystery man behind the iconic Battle Royale goes by the name of Brendan Greene.

PlayerUnknown was the gaming alias Greene used when he famously developed the Battle Royale mods for ARMA 3 and H1Z1. Originally, Greene planned to name PUBG simply Battlegrounds. However, that name was copyrighted for the movie Battlegrounds. So, Greene tagged his alias onto the front.

Click to enlarge

Water Used To Be Bulletproof

In the early days of PUBG, water was bulletproof. Players could swim under the water to escape gunfire and remain safe. Bullets could not penetrate through the water’s surface even a little bit.

In today’s version of the game, this is not the case. Water still provides resistance to bullets, but gunfire can now penetrate the surface and hit enemies beneath it.

The Origin Of “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner”

For many, PUBG was their first encounter with the phrase “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner”. However, it wasn’t PlayerUnknown who invented this iconic idiom. The origin of Winner Winner Chicken Dinner is said to have been established back in the 1930s. At the time, the standard bet in a casino was $2, just enough to afford a chicken dinner. Players that won their bets could afford to eat chicken that night.

In 2017, PUBG Set The All-Time Record for Most Concurrent Players

PUBG paved the road for today's mainstream Battle Royale titles of Fortnite and Apex Legends. In 2017, PUBG broke the record for concurrent players with over 1.3 million players online at once. PUBG continued to break their own record throughout the year, hitting over three million concurrent players in December of 2017.

This record has been broken by other games such as Fortnite in the time since, but PUBG set the foundation.

Click to enlarge

Some PUBG Cosmetics Sell For Thousands On The Secondary Market

PUBG has a flourishing secondary market. Similar to games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), PUBG players can trade their in-game cosmetics through the Steam Market. 

Dozens of PUBG’s in-game cosmetics have a market value in the hundreds. One such item, the PlayerUnknown set, has been sold for upwards of $1,900. Even though PUBG’s heyday has passed, these items still hold value. There’s still plenty of PUBG cosmetics listed for hundreds to thousands of dollars on the Steam Market.

PUBG Bans Over 100,000 Cheaters A Week

Everyone knows that PUBG has a cheater problem, but did you know to what extent? PUBG’s Community Manager, PUBG Hawkinz, claims that the team often bans more than 100,000 players a week. That’s a lot of cheaters.

PUBG’s first Map, Erangel, Is Named After PlayerUnknown’s Daughter

PUBG’s OG map has an interesting story behind its name. When coming up with the name, PlayerUnknown, or Brendan Greene, wanted to honour his daughter. His daughter’s name is Eryn, who he also refers to as an angel. So, Greene combined the two to create Erangel.

Click to enlarge

PUBG's Maps Feature Many Real-Life Locations

PUBG is famous for its tactical realism, and that carries over into its maps. PUBG’s maps are exceptionally real, so real in fact that many of the locales are based on real-life places.

The School point of interest on Erangel is inspired by a school in Chernobyl, Ukraine. The famous city of Pochinki within Erangel had its design copied from a real-life village by the name of Deol Nuclear. Hacienda del Patrón on Miramar is inspired by a place called Stone Mansion in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

These are just a few of the real-life locations players can find within the game of PUBG. There are dozens of more examples if you take a look around.

PUBG Mobile Is Far more Popular Than PUBG PC

PUBG Mobile has surpassed its PC predecessor in popularity. Mobile games, in general, are exploding in traction, and PUBG Mobile is no different. The mobile version of PUBG has reportedly been downloaded over one billion times worldwide. PUBG PC is no slouch with over 70 million copies sold, but that number pales in comparison to PUBG Mobile.

Did you learn something new today? We hope at least a few of these lesser-known PUBG facts were able to intrigue and surprise you.

Images via PUBG Corporation