While PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is best known for its multiplayer battle royale mode, publisher PUGB Corporation has announced that a new narrative-focused PUBG game is currently in development at a brand new studio led by former Dead Space and Call of Duty developer, Glen Schofield.

The new game will not be a sequel to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds or another battle royale title, something PUBG creator Brendan Greene has previously expressed no interest in developing. Instead, a new studio known as Striking Distance will be working on an "original narrative experience" that takes place in the PUBG universe.

Although very little information is actually known about the game, Schofield will serve as the CEO of Striking Distance following his exit from Call of Duty developer Sledgehammer Games in 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 the PUBG universe 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 the Dead Space series. Schofield later co-founded Call of Duty developer Sledgehammer Games alongside Michael Condrey, working on Modern Warfare 3, Advanced Warfare, and WWII. Following the duo's exit from Sledgehammer Games, development of Call of Duty 2020 is rumored to have moved to Treyarch due to tension between the different studios.

Originally created as a mod for Arma 2, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds captured the gaming industry by storm in early 2017, popularizing the battle royale game mode that would quickly be adopted by games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Battlefield, and led to the creation of new games such as Apex: Legends.

After finding easy success through expanding PUBG to consoles and mobile, and crossover events with major franchises such as Godzilla: 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.

The new PUBG game is in development for unspecified platforms.