PUBG: Black Budget has been cancelled before launch, ending development of Krafton’s planned extraction-shooter spin-off.
The project was first listed in Krafton’s November 2023 investor presentation, which indicated that the game was expected in the following months. Almost two years later, it received a Steam page and teaser trailer, but it still had not been released.
Krafton ends development
In a Steam update, Krafton explained that a review of the project’s progress and future plans led the company to conclude that its current direction could not support an experience players would enjoy over the long term. The publisher has therefore stopped work on PUBG: Black Budget.
Krafton also thanked players who joined the closed alpha tests and provided feedback. The company said that PUBG Studios would apply lessons from development and testing to future projects while continuing to listen to players.
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What Black Budget was meant to be
The game was designed as a first-person PvPvE experience set around an abandoned research facility on an island trapped in a time loop. Players would have searched for secret technology while facing both other players and environmental threats.
Although its presentation suggested a conventional military shooter, the concept also included supernatural elements reminiscent of Lost. Between matches, players would have improved their characters and developed a personal base.
A crowded extraction-shooter market
PUBG: Black Budget began testing while Arc Raiders was attracting significant attention. Later, Marathon launched but failed to create the same level of impact, despite receiving praise for its quality.
With the extraction-shooter field becoming increasingly crowded, and closed-test feedback potentially failing to support the project’s direction, Krafton appears to have decided that cancellation was the best option. The publisher also cancelled PUBG: Blindspot, a game resembling Rainbow Six Siege, after only two months in Early Access.
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