PUBG: Black Budget is an upcoming tactical extraction shooter developed by PUBG Studios and published by KRAFTON. It is designed as a first-person (FPP-first) experience built around tension, survival, and the unknown. Players take the role of a Contractor, a hardened veteran hired for a classified operation on an island at the edge of the world, with the mission of recovering top-secret technology from an abandoned research facility.
The game places its focus on exploration and discovery rather than pure survival and combat, setting it apart within the extraction shooter genre. It combines PvPvE encounters, persistent progression, and a supernatural setting in which the playable island is consumed by a phenomenon called the Anomaly. As of this writing the game has no announced release date and is listed as To Be Announced.
Premise
The setting is Coli Island, a location trapped in a time loop and steadily consumed by a supernatural force. Contractors deploy into this environment to extract artifacts, research their findings, and uncover the truth behind a black-budget initiative known as SAPIENS. The longer a player stays inside the loop, the harder it becomes to make it out alive. The full premise is covered in Story and Setting.
Key Details
Detail | Information |
|---|---|
Developer | PUBG Studios |
Publisher | KRAFTON |
Genre | Tactical extraction shooter |
Perspective | First-person (FPP-first) |
Platform | PC (Windows) |
Players Per Session | Up to 45 |
Squad Size | Up to 3 players |
Session Length | Up to 30 minutes |
Release Date | To be announced |
Core Pillars
An open-world island measuring 2.5 by 2.5 kilometers, featuring varied biomes, points of interest, and underground facilities.
Sessions of up to 30 minutes that combine exploration, combat, and extraction.
A persistent inventory where players keep what they extract and lose what they bring in if they die.
Dynamic PvPvE encounters against other Contractors and various hostile entities.
The Anomaly, which gradually shrinks the playable area to create tense and unpredictable scenarios every loop.
Difficulty scaling that increases with player level and time spent inside the loop.
Between missions, players expand a personal Base, craft new equipment, and improve their character's skills and proficiencies. For a breakdown of the moment-to-moment loop, see Gameplay and Extraction.
Development Status
PUBG: Black Budget was revealed in November 2025 alongside the announcement of its first hands-on playtest. The game has since run two Closed Alpha Tests and a smaller community test. Details on these testing phases are documented in Closed Alpha and Playtests. A second Closed Alpha Test ran from June 26 to 29, 2026, open to players in East Asia, Europe, and North America, with access granted to selected applicants on a rolling basis, and it concluded on schedule.