Hailed by the media as "the game of the moment" and the "world’s hottest videogame", PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG) has smashed seven new Guinness World Records titles – and incredibly the game doesn’t even release fully until the end of the year.
Designed by Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene and published by Bluehole Inc., the multiplayer battle royal game has been nothing less than a full-blown phenomenon since it was launched to Valve’s Steam Early Access – a PC platform that enables gamers to play titles while they’re still in development.
Since PUBG’s initial launch on 23 March, the survival shooter took just 16 days to shift 1 million units according to digital data kings SuperData – the Fastest time to sell 1 million units for a Steam Early Access game.
By 10 June 2017, it had become the Fastest Steam Early Access game to gross $100 million, achieving that feat after just 79 days according to the same US-based digital analyst.
Since then, PUBG’s sales have continued to put many triple-A games in the shade.
Last month, PUBG became the First videogame to reach 2 million concurrent players on Steam, reporting a peak of 2,279,084 gamers playing it at the same time.
As of 16 November 2017, that record-smashing high stood at 2,617,400, making it the Most actively played game on Steam – well ahead of Valve’s own PC- super-heavyweights (and previous holder) Dota 2 (1,291,328) and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (850,485).
In PUBG, up to 100 players are dropped on to an island where they scavenge for materials and fight each other for survival. Its creator Greene had previously made the ARMA 2 mod DayZ: Battle Royale, earning himself cult status within the PC gaming world.
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS other records document the game’s mercurial rise.
They include the Most concurrent players for a Steam Early Access game, the Most concurrent players on Steam for a non-Valve videogame, and the First non-Valve videogame to be the most played game on Steam.
Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition editor, Stephen Daultrey, presented Greene with certificates for the seven records during the live-stream of the 35th Golden Joystick Awards in London, UK, on 17 November 2017.
PUBG had been nominated in five awards at the event, going on to win two of them: for best multiplayer game and PC game of the year.
The game is currently due to release fully on PC next month.
To read more about the latest gaming achievements, pick up a copy of Guinness World Records 2018 Gamer's Edition.
