Krafton has ended development on 'PUBG: Black Budget' (hereafter Black Budget), an extraction shooter based on the 'PUBG' IP. The decision comes after concluding two closed alpha tests in December 2025 and June 2026.
Black Budget is a first-person tactical extraction shooter. Players enter the battlefield with pre-equipped loadouts to loot and engage in combat, needing to successfully extract to secure their loot. The setting is 'Coli', an island trapped in a time loop. Combining player-versus-player combat with AI enemies such as creatures and supernatural 'Anomaly' phenomena, the game featured a PvPvE structure where up to 45 players participated in three-player squads per match.
The first closed alpha test was held in two sessions from December 12–14 and December 19–21, 2025, targeting Steam users in North America, Europe, and Asia. The second test took place from June 26–29, 2026. Ahead of the second test, Krafton stated in a Steam announcement that player gameplay would be used to "refine the game heading toward its official launch," but Black Budget ultimately failed to reach official release after that test.
Development was led by Paweł Smolewski, Creative Director at PUBG Studios Amsterdam. Smolewski is known for overseeing early ballistics development for PUBG. He also conceived and led 'Thunder Tier One', a tactical shooter brought under Krafton in 2020.
Black Budget was a new PC title unveiled by Krafton as part of its strategy to expand the PUBG IP. The extraction shooter is a genre that grew significantly following 'Escape from Tarkov'. In October 2025, Nexon subsidiary Embark Studios joined the genre competition by launching 'ARC Raiders'. With this decision, Krafton's attempt to expand the PUBG IP into the extraction genre has stopped.
A Krafton official stated, "After reviewing the development status and future direction of 'PUBG: Black Budget,' we have decided to end development. PUBG Studios places the player experience at the center of all decisions, and we made this decision in accordance with that principle." The official added, "Based on the experience and insights gained during the project's development and testing process, we plan to continue making attempts to introduce new gameplay experiences in the future."
