PUBG: Black Budget – Everything we know about Krafton’s Extraction Shooter

It’s been more than seven years since a new PUBG game was released, with 2018’s PUBG: Mobile. However, with PUBG: Battlegrounds retaining in popularity in 2025, the time seems right for investing in the wider PUBG IP. Or we may call it the ‘PUBG-iverse’. All indications suggest this is what Krafton is doing, in part with PUBG: Black Budget.

The heavily leaked Krafton extraction shooter was the target of lots of speculation in the first quarter of 2025, with information abruptly quietening. So, where are things with Black Budget, when may we see it, and how is it shaping up? With the details we have so far, we’ll dive into everything below. However, it certainly won’t be another six years until we see a new PUBG title.

Sometime in 2026

Any PUBG: Black Budget release date remains unconfirmed. While there are Reddit posts from 2023 suggesting that the release date could be “sooner than expected”, some titles spend a few years in development before even a closed play test. What we do know is that a PUBG: Black Budget closed alpha has been confirmed for December this year.

That announcement is confirmed and available on Steam, with additional information about the title and the upcoming test. This appears to be the first confirmed information since a highly scrutinised earnings call (C Dome, YouTube), and with other PUBG titles in the works, it could equally be a late 2026 or later release. After all, Krafton’s The Calisto Protocol was released on December 2, 2022.

According to the Steam announcement, the PUBG: Black Budget closed alpha is an external test with applications available to players who want to participate. There is a PUBG: Black Budget sign-up option for the closed alpha on the Steam page, and the test “will run over two weeks, from Friday to Monday”, in North America, Europe, and Asia. Those weeks are:

Further information states that the test will focus on early-game systems, combat pacing, extraction balance, and player progression. Krafton points out that the game is still in an alpha state, but has also said that the closed alpha will run without an NDA. That’s interesting because participants can share and discuss the content freely. 

For anyone not taking part, that means we can expect to see plenty of thoughts, and potentially recordings and screenshots from inside the closed alpha. While this is an unusual choice, it could certainly help build hype for the title as it will ultimately arrive in a busy and competitive market.

Free-to-play or ~$40 depending on the path Krafton takes

While there’s no pricing or pre-order information for project Black Budget, PUBG has itself in an interesting position with potential pricing. After all, PUBG is free to play, as is PUBG: Mobile, but extraction shooters aren’t. The standout titles (and standard costs) in this arena are arguably Escape From Tarkov ($45), Hunt: Showdown at ($30), Grey Zone Warfare ($40), and Arc Raiders ($40). 

It is worth noting that Arc Raiders was originally conceived as a free-to-play title, but shifted to a premium model, with Embark Studios feeling it would better suit the title. That may be the course that Project Black Budget takes, and maintaining a free-to-play model would fit the existing PUBG approach. Arena Breakout: Infinite is one free-to-play extraction shooter, but a $40 price could fit Black Budget well within the existing extraction shooter landscape. 

This is all guesswork, though, because no PUBG: Black Budget leak has offered any indication about price, and Krafton hasn’t provided any thoughts either. As with pre-order information, the likelihood is that the price confirmation will come alongside release date. That announcement will likely be after an open beta, so we may not know until early 2026. 

There is little confirmed information from Krafton about PUBG: Black Budget gameplay as yet. No leaked video content exists, either, so as we write, we have only the video, details, and images from the Steam page. Krafton says Black Budget is “Designed as an FPP-first experience…a tactical extraction shooter built around tension, survival, and the unknown.”

The page goes on to explain that, “You are a Contractor, a hardened veteran hired for a classified operation on an island at the edge of the world. Your mission is to recover top-secret technology from an abandoned research facility. But there’s a catch: the island is trapped in a time loop, consumed by a supernatural phenomenon known as the Anomaly”

Gameplay, then, will see players “extract artifacts, research your findings, and uncover the truth behind the black-budget initiative, SAPIENS.” As you’d expect, expanding a base, crafting equipment and building skills and proficiencies will be key. As will surviving PvPvE threats in raids that get harder to escape the longer you stay.

As for the images available on the Steam page, they show a selection of tropical, cavernous and office environments, and also feature what appears to be a portal. Before the Steam page, the available ‘gameplay’ were are limited to four screenshots posted on X/Twitter by ‘SargeOP_’ and the unofficial fan account called ‘@PUBGBLACKBUDGET’. 

While the images don’t appear to show much initially, elements of a minimalist UI can be seen, with continuity across three of the four images for weapon mode, ammo, and stamina bars. 

These images have been looked at in depth by the PUBG community, but they have also irked some fans. One reply to SargeOP_’s post on X, from a user named Nyamatsuka, commented, “we got black holes, gators, a map that looks generic [redacted], and a tactical sprint as usual”. However, new details will certainly emerge from the closed alpha test.

While we don’t yet know the system requirements for Black Budget, and it’s unclear if there will be PUBG: Black Budget console release, the PC requirements for the closed alpha are available. The minimum system requirements are pretty low and should suit most gaming PCs. These are only initial requirements though, so they will be tweaked for any full release:

While we still don’t know much officially about PUBG Black Budget, we do now know that a closed alpha should provide much more information about the game. This is particularly true because anyone taking part in the alpha will not be required to sign an NDA and will be allowed to freely discuss or share any information, presumably including screenshots and video.

We can’t wait to see what Black Budget brings to the table, especially when the extraction scene has been enlivened or redefined by Arc Raiders. Black Budget looks to combine a more traditional-looking FPP-first military approach with PvPvE elements and unusual environments. Right now, that sounds like a solid mix.