Naruto is one of the faces of the anime and manga worldwide, with its protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki, standing as an icon, even though the series ended years ago. Naruto’s manga concluded in 2014, and its anime followed suit in 2017. Despite its end, the Naruto series is continuing with a sequel, called Boruto, but the nostalgia of the original series still carries its own charm. Luckily, even though Kishimoto’s story ended, more projects are being announced one after another.
While we’re all waiting for a return of the Naruto anime, right now, the franchise has officially announced its newest release with an exciting new collab with the popular shooter game PUBG. The collab is dropping July 9, 2026, and at the moment, we have 9 officially confirmed skins inspired by Naruto characters that we can’t wait to use.
Naruto X PUBG Collab Officially Announced For July 9, 2026
Naruto is one of the biggest anime and manga franchises in the whole world. Originally, it started as a manga series by Japanese creator Masashi Kishimoto in the popular magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Its official debut came in Issue #43 on September 21, 1999, and the rest is history. Decades later, Naruto has become a global phenomenon with cultural impact unrivaled by most series. The anime for it by Studio Pierrot was released in 2001, and it also greatly helped popularize the series.
Naruto manga concluded in 2014, and after that, Studio Pierrot wrapped up the story of Shippuden in 2017 shortly following the Naruto vs Sasuke battle. It’s been years since its conclusion, but Naruto still makes brief comebacks every once in a while with exciting projects to keep fans hooked. Naruto is no stranger to video game collabs, and the newest one that has been officially announced is one of the most exciting yet. PUBG: Battlegrounds, a 2017 battle royal game by PUBG Studios, revealed on July 1st, 2026, that the game would collaborate with the Naruto franchise. This is extremely exciting, and for the event, it has also released a fully animated teaser.
This teaser dropped on July 1, 2026, and it was animated by the same team behind the Naruto anime. In this short animation release, we see the iconic Naruto trio made up of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno, as well as other Naruto icons like Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Tsunade in action. This trailer has definitely hyped us all up, and it can be viewed here:
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Naruto And PUBG Collab Debuts July 9 With 9 Confirmed Skins
The trailer for the new Naruto collab has us all excited for what’s to come. Many fans of Naruto who also play PUBG want to access this new collab as soon as possible. Luckily for them, this new collab is dropping very soon. Through the teaser, PUBG has officially confirmed the Naruto collab will release on July 9, 2026, which is next week. It will be included in version 4.5 of the game. We also already know the contents of the collab. As expected, this new collab will mostly consist of skins based on Naruto characters. At the moment, 9 skins are set to be released next week. These skins can be used in-game to battle out on the field as your favorite Naruto character.
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First and foremost, of course, Naruto Uzumaki will be getting his own skin release as the main character of the IP. Interestingly, Naruto will not be released in his base form, but instead, he will come in his Six Paths Mode, which is characterized by his bright orange form and floating orbs. Sasuke Uchiha is also thrown into the mix. Sasuke is the deuteragonist of the series, and he will be added using his typical Shippuden outfit and style. The trio will be completed with Sakura Haruno, the main heroine of the franchise. Just like Sasuke, she will be playable in her Shippuden outfit and design in this collab.
Aside from the trio, we will also have their mentor and guide, Kakashi Hatake. The game will also bring forward 2 of the legendary Sannin as new skins, notably, Tsunade Senju, the 5th Hokage of Konoha, as well as Jiraiya, the man who took up training Naruto during the timeskip. Gaara, a former antagonist in the original anime and later on an ally and the new Kazekage of the Sand Village, is also included in his Shippuden design. There is also Hinata Hyuga, a member of Team 8 and Naruto Uzumaki’s future wife. One absolutely cannot forget the inclusion of Naruto’s legendary antagonist, Madara Uchiha, who wreaked havoc during the 4th Great Ninja War when he was resurrected for the final war.
There are many other characters who we wish were included, but so far, this is the gist of the inclusions we have. One of the most surprising exclusions is Itachi Uchiha, the older brother of Sasuke and one of the legendary Akatsuki. Kaguya Otsutsuki, the final villain of the story, would also have been a fun inclusion with her visually stunning design. We would also have love to see the Sannin group completed with Orochimaru getting his own skin. A future update could potentially add them, along with other characters, to the PUBG field as new skins. To unlock the available skin, PUBG will follow the typical route for usual collabs, which includes the Prize Path and the Lucky Spin. More details concerning how to unlock these characters will be available soon as the release approaches.
Naruto Will Continue To Get New Releases With Gaming Collabs
The Naruto and PUBG collab is a welcome surprise that goes to show how big the Naruto franchise has become, and its global impact outside of Japan. With that being said, while this collab is huge for both PUBG and Naruto, this isn’t the first time Kishimoto’s story is used in such a major way. Previously, on November 16, 2021, in Chapter 2 Season 8, Naruto was added to arguably one of the most prominent battle royale games of all time — Fortnite. The Naruto and Fortnite collab was big, and it saw the addition of many fan-favorite Naruto characters as skins to the game.
Fortnite brought in Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Kakashi Hatake, Gaara, Hinata Hyuga, Itachi Uchiha, and Orochimaru to the game. After the initial release, the Naruto collab didn’t stop, and new updated skins were added, such as some characters’ Boruto designs, or for some other characters, their younger versions.
Both the Fortnite and PUBG collabs are big, and we hope to see more Naruto content like this in the future, ahead of the return of the anime with its 4 special episodes and the return of the Boruto anime with Two Blue Vortex. The Naruto franchise has a lot of potential that has yet to be fully utilized, and more such releases can help it reach even more people worldwide.
PUBG is available to play on Mobile.
