X

The man behind the fastest-growing PC game rarely plays it

The mystery creator of PUBG admits he's not your typical gamer.

Sean Hollister Senior Editor / Reviews
When his parents denied him a Super NES, he got mad. When they traded a prize Sega Genesis for a 2400 baud modem, he got even. Years of Internet shareware, eBay'd possessions and video game testing jobs after that, he joined Engadget. He helped found The Verge, and later served as Gizmodo's reviews editor. When he's not madly testing laptops, apps, virtual reality experiences, and whatever new gadget will supposedly change the world, he likes to kick back with some games, a good Nerf blaster, and a bottle of Tejava.
Sean Hollister
2 min read
Bluehole Studio

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) is a sensation. It's the most-streamed game on Twitch. It's the No. 3 most-played game on Steam. It's sold 6 million copies in just four months, despite -- and this is crazy -- being a buggy, unfinished Early Access game with a ridiculous name. (See our guide full of PUBG tips here.)

The other unusual thing about PUBG? Its creator, a 41-year-old Irishman named Brendan Greene, who taught himself to mod games. A former graphic designer and DJ, he's the man behind the name PlayerUnknown, and we published a huge interview with him today.

One of the more curious things about PlayerUnknown is how rarely he plays his own game. 

He doesn't have a gaming computer at home -- only a laptop he uses for Netflix. In fact, he doesn't consider himself much of a gamer at all. "I've never played Zelda. I've never played these classic games because they don't interest me," Greene told me.

There's a method to his madness, though. He wants to keep himself from tainting his creation. "A friend of mine who was a producer didn't listen to a lot of music, because he didn't want to be unduly affected by other music he heard... I view gaming the same way," he said.

Instead, he mostly watches streamers play his game on Twitch, which he calls "the greatest gameplay debugger out there." (I imagine that makes some people at Twitch very happy.)

You can read our full interview with PlayerUnknown -- including a lot of info about where the game's headed next -- right here.

pubg-sales

This game's sales actually appear to be accelerating.

Sean Hollister/CNET