It feels like a lifetime ago that we were all obsessed with finding a level three helmet and hiding in a bathtub in Erangel. Honestly, if you try to pinpoint exactly when did PUBG come out, you’ll get three different answers depending on who you ask.
Was it the day it hit Steam? Was it when the mobile version took over the planet? Or was it years earlier, when Brendan Greene was just a guy modding other games in his spare time?
The short version: PUBG first came out on PC via Steam Early Access on March 23, 2017. But that’s just the technicality. The "real" launch of PUBG wasn't a single day—it was a rolling wave of chaos that changed how we play video games forever. Before Fortnite had building mechanics or Apex Legends had even been conceived, there was just this clunky, buggy, terrifyingly realistic shooter that everyone was talking about.
The PC Era: March to December 2017
Back in early 2017, the gaming world was a bit stale. We had Overwatch and League of Legends, but nothing quite captured that "one life, one chance" adrenaline. When Bluehole (now Krafton) dropped PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds into Early Access on March 23, it wasn't supposed to be a global titan.
It was kinda broken. It crashed. Your car would randomly explode if it touched a fence.
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Yet, people couldn't stop playing it. By the time the "Full Release" (Version 1.0) happened on December 20, 2017, the game had already sold millions of copies. It had basically redefined the Steam charts. We finally got the Miramar desert map, vaulting mechanics, and slightly—very slightly—better optimization.
When Did PUBG Come Out on Mobile and Consoles?
While PC players were busy getting "Chicken Dinners," the rest of the world was waiting. Microsoft actually jumped on the hype train early, securing an "exclusive" for the Xbox One.
- Xbox One: Launched via the Game Preview program on December 12, 2017. It ran... poorly. I remember frame rates dropping to single digits during the parachute drop, but we played it anyway because it was the only way to get the BR experience on a couch.
- PUBG Mobile: This is where things got massive. Developed by Tencent’s Lightspeed & Quantum Studio, it launched in China on February 9, 2018, and went global on March 19, 2018.
- PlayStation 4: Sony fans had to wait the longest. It didn't arrive on PS4 until December 7, 2018, nearly a year and a half after the PC craze began.
A Timeline of the Chaos
- March 23, 2017: PC Early Access (The birth of the legend).
- December 12, 2017: Xbox One Game Preview.
- December 20, 2017: PC 1.0 Full Release.
- February 9, 2018: Mobile release in China (as Exhilarating Battlefield).
- March 19, 2018: Global PUBG Mobile launch.
- December 7, 2018: PlayStation 4 release.
- January 12, 2022: The game officially goes Free-to-Play across all platforms.
The Brendan Greene Backstory
If we’re being real experts here, we have to talk about "PlayerUnknown" himself. Brendan Greene didn't just wake up in 2017 and make a game. He was an Irish photographer living in Brazil who started modding ARMA 2 around 2013.
He created the DayZ: Battle Royale mod because he was tired of shooters having tiny, predictable maps. He wanted randomness. He wanted the movie Battle Royale (2000) to come to life.
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Greene later consulted on H1Z1: King of the Kill, which was arguably the first "standalone" BR, but it never had the grit that PUBG brought to the table. When Chang-han Kim from Bluehole reached out to Greene, that's when the "real" PUBG started development in 2016. It only took about a year to get that first version out.
Why the Launch Date Matters Today
People ask when did PUBG come out because they want to know who started it. There’s a lot of debate about whether PUBG or Fortnite came first.
Technically, Fortnite was a co-op base-building game (Save the World) that launched in July 2017. Their Battle Royale mode didn't show up until September 2017—six months after PUBG had already taken over the internet.
Without that March 2017 launch, we wouldn't have Call of Duty: Warzone. We wouldn't have the current state of mobile gaming. PUBG showed that players were willing to put up with bugs and "clunk" if the core gameplay loop—loot, survive, move—was addictive enough.
Surprising Details You Probably Forgot
Most people think PUBG was always "PUBG: Battlegrounds." It wasn't. For years, it was just PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. The name change only happened recently to consolidate the brand because, well, the word "Battlegrounds" is literally in the acronym. It’s basically "Battlegrounds Battlegrounds" now, which is kinda silly when you think about it.
Also, did you know the "circle" was supposed to be a square? Greene wanted a square play area to mimic the movie, but his coding skills at the time weren't quite there, so he made it a circle. It stuck. Sometimes the best features are just happy accidents.
How to Experience PUBG in 2026
If you’re looking to jump back in today, the landscape has changed. It's no longer the $30 purchase it was in 2017.
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- Go Free-to-Play: You can download the full game for free on Steam, Xbox, or PlayStation right now.
- Check Out the Maps: Erangel is still there, but it’s been "remastered" several times. There are now over half a dozen maps including Deston and Rondo.
- Mobile is King: If you want the most active player base, PUBG Mobile (or BGMI in India) is still where the sheer numbers are.
The "When" of PUBG is more than a calendar date. It was a cultural shift. Whether you started on that first day in March 2017 or joined the party when it went free in 2022, the tension of that final circle remains the same.
If you're curious about the current meta, your best bet is to jump into the Training Mode first. The gunplay in PUBG is still significantly harder than Fortnite or Apex—there's real recoil and bullet drop that takes hours to master. Grab a M416, find a compensator, and start practicing your sprays. That’s the only way you’re getting that dinner.
Actionable Insight: If you're a returning player, check your "Legacy" rewards in the inventory. Since the game went Free-to-Play in 2022, original owners received a "Special Commemorative Pack" that includes unique skins and Plus status. If you bought the game back in the day, you're sitting on items that new players can't get.