Krafton has pulled the plug on another PUBG game. The publisher announced today, October 1, that it has ended development of PUBG: Black Budget — the extraction shooter spin-off publicly revealed less than a year ago — saying the project no longer had a future worth shipping.
The news came via an update on Black Budget’s Steam page. “After reviewing the project’s development status and future direction, we concluded that its current direction would not allow us to deliver an experience players could enjoy over the long term,” Krafton wrote. “We have therefore made the difficult decision to end development of PUBG: Black Budget. We sincerely thank everyone who took the time to participate in our closed alpha tests and share their feedback.”
What We’re Losing
Black Budget was positioned as the next major PUBG game: a PvEvP first-person shooter blending extraction shooter elements with battle royale, set on an island trapped in a time loop and haunted by strange weather phenomena and other anomalies meant to make each match feel different. Kotaku describes it as a run-of-the-mill military shooter on the surface, but with supernatural components in the mold of the TV show Lost — and between matches, players would upgrade characters and craft their bases.
The project had deep roots: it was first spotted in a 2023 Krafton financial report, with the publisher at one point aiming for a second-half 2024 release. It hosted several closed tests — the most recent and biggest taking place in June — but never made it to launch.
The Second Cancelled PUBG Spin-Off
Black Budget is now the second PUBG spin-off Krafton has cancelled. PUBG: Blindspot, the 5v5 top-down tactical shooter that borrowed from Rainbow Six Siege, was shut down in March after just two months in early access. Kotaku points to the backdrop for both cancellations: Black Budget’s testing began just as Arc Raiders blew up, and the extraction shooter space has only grown more saturated since — with even Bungie’s well-reviewed Marathon struggling to make a splash.
“PUBG Studios will carry what we learned from development and testing into future projects, continuing to listen to players as we explore new gameplay experiences,” Krafton wrote. The next spin-off, PUBG: Ded.Net, was announced at gamescom in August and is being developed by Krafton’s Madison, Wisconsin studio.