What does PUBG stand for?

If you're reading this, then you are likely wondering, "what does PUBG stand for?". PUBG is one of the biggest battle royale games on the planet, specifically kicking off the trend which saw the proliferation of the genre over the past six years. However, since its name change, newer players may not understand what the name PUBG actually stands for. So, take a look at our explainer of what PUBG stands for. 

• Make sure you check out how to get the FAMAS in PUBG, which is the latest assault rifle to be added to the game. 

What does PUBG stand for?

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PUBG stands for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, which was the game's original name before it was changed in July 2021 to just PUBG: Battlegrounds.

While the name change may seem redundant as the PUBG acronym already has 'Battlegrounds' in it, the change was made so that future games and other media could easily be differentiated from the original title. 

This is mainly due to publisher Krafton wanting to expand the PUBG brand beyond the initial game. They already did this with PUBG: New State, a mobile version of the game, but this is set to continue into other mediums such as television, with Adi Shankar, showrunner of Netflix's Castlevania, set to create a new animated show in the game's universe. 

The recent horror game The Callisto Protocol, which released in December 2022, was also originally meant to be a part of the PUBG universe, though it never featured the PUBG branding outside of Krafton publishing it. 

The original director of PUBG, Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene, is also no longer involved with the IP and doesn't work at Krafton, so changing the name additionally served as a way to remove his moniker from the title of the game itself. 

That's all for our explainer of what PUBG stands for, and now you know it's an acronym of the game's original title which was changed to help its branding.

We also cover all the PUBG maps in our map list.