Krafton reveals new extraction shooter PUBG: Black Budget with closed alpha coming next month

Krafton has unveiled PUBG: Black Budget, a new first-person extraction shooter set to enter closed alpha testing in December across two weekends.

Krafton has officially unveiled PUBG: Black Budget, its new first-person tactical extraction shooter set in the PUBG universe.

Positioned as an “FPP-first experience,” Black Budget shifts PUBG away from battle royale and into the rapidly growing extraction-shooter genre.

Players become Contractors deployed to a remote island trapped in a supernatural time loop caused by “the Anomaly,” tasked with retrieving classified tech from an abandoned research facility.

Runs involve classic PvPvE tension, with collecting artifacts, surviving escalating threats, and escaping with your haul before the loop closes in.

Between excursions, players will upgrade a personal base, craft gear, and improve skills – a progression structure closer to Escape from Tarkov or Call of Duty’s new PvE extraction modes than traditional PUBG.

Krafton also confirmed Black Budget would be running a closed alpha next month, which will take place December 12–14 and again the following weekend, with no NDA restrictions – meaning participants can freely stream, share footage, and discuss the game.

However, access is limited to players in North America, Europe, and Asia, with sign-ups available now via Steam.

Keys will also drop through Twitch and Chzzk during the test period.

Krafton has said the alpha focuses on “early-game systems, combat pacing, extraction balance, and player progression,” and warned technical hiccups are expected in this early build.

PUBG: Black Budget joins a wave of major publishers embracing extraction shooters, but with PUBG’s scale and the added twist of a looping, anomaly-ridden island, it’s positioned as one of the genre’s most ambitious new entrants.