Krafton cancels PUBG: Black Budget extraction shooter

Krafton has ended development of PUBG: Black Budget, scrapping its extraction shooter spin-off of PUBG less than a year after reveal.

The publisher posted the decision on Black Budget's Steam page following an internal review, Steam. Krafton said its current direction would not allow the team to deliver an experience players could enjoy over the long term. It thanked players who joined its closed alpha tests for their feedback.

Black Budget was developed by PUBG Studios and first revealed in November 2025, according to Eurogamer. It was a PvEvP first-person shooter, meaning players would have faced both other players and computer-controlled enemies. It blended extraction shooter rules, where players enter a map to gather loot and try to get out alive, with battle royale rules, where many players fight until one side remains.

The game was set on an island trapped in a time loop. Strange weather and anomalies were intended to make each match feel different.

Black Budget held several closed tests. PUBG Studios had announced a Closed Alpha Test for December, with part of that test scheduled for 12-14 December, and the team later ran its largest test in June.

For fans, this means two public PUBG spin-offs have now been stopped. Black Budget is the second to be cancelled.

The first was PUBG: Blindspot, also from PUBG Studios. It was a 5v5 top-down tactical shooter, played from a camera above the action. It was scheduled to launch in Early Access, a paid pre-release version, on 5 February at 6:00 AM CET via Steam, and was cancelled in March after two months in Early Access.

Krafton has described Early Access as a way to quickly test whether a game has potential, GamesIndustry.biz reported in March. Krafton has not announced further plans for the Black Budget project.