New PUBG Game in Development by Dead Space Producer, Will Be 'Narrative Experience'

WhilePlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundsis best known for its multiplayer battle royale mode, publisher PUGB Corporation has announced that a new narrative-focusedPUBGgame is currently in development at a brand new studio led by formerDead SpaceandCall of Dutydeveloper, Glen Schofield.

The new game will not be a sequel toPlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundsor another battle royale title, somethingPUBGcreatorBrendan Greene has previously expressed no interestin developing. Instead, a new studio known as Striking Distance will be working on an “original narrative experience” that takes place in thePUBGuniverse.

Although very little information is actually known about the game, Schofield will serve as the CEO of Striking Distance following hisexit fromCall of Dutydeveloper Sledgehammer Gamesin December 2018. The studio is being built from the ground up in San Ramon, California, by Schofield and a brand new team that look at thePUBGuniverse as more than just battle royale.

Schofield is an industry veteran, perhaps best known for his time at the now-defunct Visceral Games where he worked as an executive producer on theDead Spaceseries. Schofield later co-foundedCall of Dutydeveloper Sledgehammer Games alongside Michael Condrey, working onModern Warfare 3,Advanced Warfare, andWWII. Following the duo’s exit from Sledgehammer Games, development ofCall of Duty 2020is rumored to have moved to Treyarch due to tension between the different studios.

Originally created as a mod forArma 2,PlayerUnknown’s Battlegroundscaptured the gaming industry by storm in early 2017, popularizing the battle royale game mode that would quickly be adopted by games likeFortnite,Call of Duty, andBattlefield,and led to the creation of new games such asApex: Legends.

After finding easy success through expandingPUBGto consoles and mobile, andcrossover events with major franchises such asGodzilla: King of the Monsters, PUBG Corporation’s decision to expand its teams and bring on someone as high profile as Glen Schofield shows that the publisher is committed to the franchise.