Sort of. BattleRoyale was initially developed as a mod for ARMA 2 by Brendan Greene (PlayerUnknown). He then went on to make a mod for ARMA 3, then later worked with the H1Z1 devs for the H1Z1 battle royale mode named King of the Kill.

After that, he moved on to making his own game with a supporting development company fully centered around his ideas at his direction with creative freedom that was not limited with being a mod (ARMA 2/3) or under the restraints of a larger company (SOE/Daybreak with H1Z1).

Brendan is largely the progenitor of the video game battle royale mode, and his name carries a lot of weight in the genre itself.

The first 3 versions were. PUBG as we know it was developed by an professional studio.