KRAFTON Cancels PUBG: Black Budget Extraction Shooter
PUBG: Black Budget is the second PUBG side project to end without a full release, after PUBG: BLINDSPOT left early access and shut down on March 30.
Key Facts
- KRAFTON canceled development of PUBG: Black Budget on October 1, 2026.
- PUBG: Black Budget held two closed alpha tests, one in December after a November announcement and a second in June, and never released.
- PUBG: Black Budget was a PvPvE extraction shooter with matches of up to 45 players in three-person squads on a 2.5km by 2.5km map, capped at 30 minutes.
- KRAFTON announced PUBG: DED.NET, a roguelite multiplayer shooter, at gamescom Opening Night Live 2026.
- KRAFTON said insights from development and testing of PUBG: Black Budget will be used in its next project.
Reporting from 2 sources: 4Gamer.net, Automaton.
KRAFTON's PUBG STUDIOS ended development of PUBG: Black Budget on October 1, 2026. The PvPvE extraction shooter had run two closed alpha tests, one in December after a November announcement, and a second this June, without reaching release. The studio reviewed the project's development status and future direction and concluded that under the current direction it could not deliver an experience players would enjoy over the long term. The game put up to 45 players into three-person squads on a 2.5km by 2.5km island, with matches capped at 30 minutes and three factions handing out contracts. KRAFTON thanked the players who joined the tests and sent feedback. PUBG STUDIOS said it will carry what it learned from development and testing into its next project and keep exploring new gameplay experiences. In the same franchise, KRAFTON announced PUBG: DED.NET at gamescom Opening Night Live 2026.
The near-future sci-fi shooter cast players as veterans hired for a top-secret operation on an island at the edge of the world, trapped in a time loop and afflicted by supernatural phenomena the game called Anomalies. Squads recovered artifacts, ran investigations, and uncovered a classified plan, while contracts came from three existing factions and the play area shrank as the Anomaly spread.
Development ran out of time to reach players. The title was announced in November, held its first closed alpha in December, then ran a second closed alpha in June.
- PUBG: BLINDSPOT, the top-down competitive shooter, was in early access from February and ended service on March 30.
- PUBG: DED.NET, announced at gamescom Opening Night Live 2026, is a roguelite multiplayer shooter set in a 1990s occult horror world, with closed beta registration open.
The studio credited the closed alpha tests as the source of the lessons it plans to carry forward.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.