What is PUBG: Black Budget, the new extraction shooter from Krafton?

It is undeniable that the extraction shooter genre is growing, and fast. With ARC Raiders now out and proving that this kind of game can and will succeed, it’s no wonder others would want to follow suit.

Enter: PUBG: Black Budget, Krafton’s new, upcoming extraction shooter that promises gritty military realism combined with strange fantastical elements, which is set to start its first alpha tests in December. But what exactly will it be about?

Here’s everything you need to know.

PUBG: Black Budget, explained

PUBG: Black Budget will be a first-person (with optional third-person mode) extraction shooter with PVPVE elements that places up to 45 players on a remote island trapped in an anomalous time loop. Players are tasked with going in, finding top-secret tech in an abandoned research facility, and extracting with hard-earned loot within a 30-minute timeframe.

If you die during the mission, and loot and items that you might have had on your person are permanently lost, but everything you extracted, you get to keep permanently. You can then use those extracted items and loot to craft better gear, expand your base, and return to the island better-prepared and more ready than ever.

As stated above, you’ll fight both other players and AI enemies on a 1.55×1.55-mile map that contains “varied biomes, points of interest, and underground facilities.” It’s a gritty, military shooter that combines realism with fantastical elements, with extraction shooter elements sprinkled on top.

Outside of combat, you get to customize your character fully, construct “facilities that provide income” (which will likely add a bit of an economy side to the game), progress through the story, take on contracts from various factions for different boons (sort of like Forever Winter), and put your hard-earned loot to good use.

From everything we’ve seen so far, the game makes liberal use of PUBG‘s physics and weapon system, which was always its high point, so I’m glad Krafton went for it. I’m not sure about how these supernatural elements will play into everything, but an extra layer of tension on an already apparently tense PVP experience is always welcome.

First closed tests are set to begin on Dec. 12, and you can check out our dedicated guide to find out when and how you too can take part.