The biggest game of 2017 has already made $400 million, and it hasn't even launched yet

Having sold over 13 million copies since launching in March — making nearly $400 million — "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" is a bona fide blockbuster.

playerunknown's battlegrounds parachuting

Even more impressive is that the game technically isn't finished — it's available only through Steam, the world's largest digital game store, as an "Early Access" title. That means you can buy it, and play it, as millions have, but it's not considered a finished product.

At any given point in a day, hundreds of thousands of people are playing "Battlegrounds." It's the No. 1 most-played game on the world's largest game service, Steam, with over 1 million concurrent players:

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (Steam)

That's a tremendously important metric. Steam is, by far, the largest game platform, with somewhere in the vicinity of 200 million active users.

The top two spots are usually permanently occupied by "Dota 2," which is free, and "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive," which costs $15 ("Battlegrounds" costs $30). Both of those games are created and operated by Valve, the same company that runs Steam.

The creative director for "Battlegrounds," Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene, celebrated a previous Steam achievement on Twitter:

We now hold the record for the highest peak player count of any non-Valve game! GG WP everyone <3 http://pic.twitter.com/cHjXPeSE8p
— PLAYERUNKNOWN (@PLAYERUNKNOWN) July 30, 2017

As Greene pointed out, "Battlegrounds" snagged the record for "highest peak player count of any non-Valve game" way back in July. Just a few months later and the game is the highest peak player count of any game on the service. This is especially impressive as the game has only been available since March and, of course, is unfinished, yet it bests the likes of "Grand Theft Auto V" and "Fallout 4" and even Valve's own heavy-hitters.

There's a simple explanation for why it's doing so well: It's an unbelievably good game.

More than just a bizarre name, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" boasts a brilliant concept: 100 people on a massive island, armed with their wits and a scattered arsenal, fighting to the death. Whoever survives at the end of the match wins — and there can only be one.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

The future of "Battlegrounds" is even brighter.

The game is expected to reach "1.0" by the end of the year, and it should arrive on the Xbox One by then as well. All of which is to say one thing: Expect to hear a lot more about "Battlegrounds" as the year goes on.

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