Krafton Unveils PUBG: Black Budget — A New Extraction Shooter Set in the PUBG Universe

South Korean developer Krafton is preparing to expand the PUBG: Battlegrounds universe once again. The title that helped define and popularize the battle royale genre still ranks among Steam’s most-played games — and now Krafton, together with PUBG Studios, is venturing into the world of extraction shooters with a brand-new project: PUBG: Black Budget.

Black Budget drops players onto a perilous 2.5×2.5 km island filled with diverse biomes, unique terrain, and a sprawling research facility. As mercenaries trapped in hostile territory, teams must battle aggressive creatures and enemy players, gather samples of secret technologies, and successfully extract them to safety. The island itself is caught in a time loop and gradually deteriorates due to strange anomalies, adding a tense, unpredictable twist to every match. Raids last up to 30 minutes, and death means losing all collected loot. Up to 45 players can enter the island per session, grouped into squads of three.

Players can also take on contracts from three separate factions, completing different mission types for various rewards. Between expeditions, there’s room to upgrade and expand a personal hideout, develop character abilities, fine-tune loadouts, customize appearances, and personalize both weapons and armor.

The game’s first alpha test will run from December 12 to December 22. Interested players can apply through the game’s Steam page, where the initial system requirements are already available. The recommended specs include a 12th-generation Intel Core i3, 16 GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060. The early build takes up roughly 30 GB of storage.