Balenciaga announces partnership with PUBG video game

Balenciaga is still keen on the world of gaming. The Kering-owned luxury label, which appointed Italian designer Pierpaolo Piccioli as creative director in summer, has further boosted its video-gaming links by striking a top-notch new partnership.

Balenciaga has teamed up with PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), an uber-popular online multi-player game involving 100 players in a single session, all vying to be the last one standing. The game was launched in 2017, and its PC version claims to attract hundreds of thousands of players online on a daily basis. PUBG is especially popular for mobile play, where it tots up tens of millions of active players each month, and is said to have generated billions of euros in revenue, notably through the sale of skins, the characters’ outfits. Its publisher, Krafton, reported revenue of approximately €950 million in 2024. PUBG’s mobile version, co-developed with LightSpeed Studios (a division of Tencent Games), claims to have generated over a billion downloads, and is very successful in Asia, the Middle East and India.

They’re strategic regions for Balenciaga, which is continuing along the path it first took in 2020 with the Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow game, on which the label presented its collections. Despite the setbacks experienced with the metaverse, Balenciaga is still active in the digital entertainment industry, now a primary avenue for cultural and business initiatives.

Balenciaga was one of the first luxury labels to invest in video games. It launched a digital collection on Fortnite, featuring fours skins inspired by its runway shows, a special hub called Strange Times, and a limited-edition line of real-life garments, still available today. More recently, the label made a foray into the Rematch game, with its Balenciaga Soccer Series outfits.

By partnering with PUBG, for an undisclosed investment, Balenciaga will create in-game activations, a capsule collection of PUBG-inspired items, and outfits for e-sport competitions. Balenciaga-themed content will be gradually introduced on PUBG’s console and PC versions. On the mobile versions, players will be able to unlock a Couture Armour outfit inspired by a 3D dress from the label’s 52nd couture collection, as well as looks from the winter 2025 collection, including a cropped pink puffer jacket, a body-hugging hoodie, a trompe-l’œil miniskirt, and a pair of knee-high stiletto-heeled boots. Various accessories are also included, like a blue fur helmet.

In the real world, the Balenciaga-PUBG partnership translates into a T-shirt, a black hat and a handbag charm, all available at select Balenciaga stores.

The label is by no means the only luxury brand interested in PUBG. The game has in fact recently unveiled collaborations with supercar marques Porsche and Bugatti.

The Balenciaga-PUBG partnership will reach its pinnacle with the game’s international finals, scheduled on December 12-14 in Bangkok, when the winning teams’ players will receive customised Balenciaga bomber jackets. A big draw for e-sport stars and their millions of followers.