PUBG’s Extraction Shooter Project Axed Less Than a Year After Announcement

PUBG: Black Budget was first introduced during a November 2023 investor presentation as an extraction shooter set to launch in the near future. Fast forward two years, and while it finally received a Steam page and a teaser trailer, it never made it to release. Now, it’s officially been canceled.

In an update on Steam, Krafton stated, “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. 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.”

This spin-off was envisioned as a first-person PvPvE game where players would attempt to recover secret technology from an abandoned research facility on an island trapped in a time loop. While it appeared to be a standard military shooter, it was set to incorporate supernatural elements reminiscent of the TV show Lost. Between matches, players would focus on upgrading their characters and crafting their bases.

The testing phase began just as Arc Raiders was gaining traction. Months later, Marathon launched but struggled to achieve similar success, despite its quality. With the extraction shooter genre becoming increasingly crowded and possibly due to a lack of positive feedback from the closed tests conducted over the past year, Krafton has decided to pull the plug. The company also canceled PUBG: Blindspot, a Rainbow Six Siege-inspired title, after only two months in Early Access.

“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,” the company announced today.