Krafton has announced PUBG: Black Budget, a brand new extraction shooter that can add its name to the growing list of titles that want to knock Escape from Tarkov‘s crown off a head increasingly plastered with bullseyes.
The publisher says that Black Budget is “designed as an FPP-first experience” (i.e. first-person perspective), so if you’re used to playing PUBG in third person, there may be some adjustment required to get used to this one.
You’ll play as a Contractor who’s sent to an island “trapped in a time loop” and “consumed by a supernatural phenomenon known as the Anomaly”, so PUBG: Black Budget has a decidedly supernatural bent to it, it seems.
Black Budget‘s core gameplay loop involves searching the island for artifacts to extract, all while contending with both hostile threats in your environment and other players determined to extract the same artifacts as you.
Sessions will last “up to 30 minutes”, according to Krafton, and will feature “level- and squad-based matchmaking for up to 3-player squads and 45 players per session”, so it sounds as though duos may be supported on launch. Take note, Arc Raiders.
Since it’s a PUBG game, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that Black Budget‘s map will gradually shrink as play progresses, which Krafton says will help to create “tense and unpredictable scenarios every loop”.
While you’re not searching the island for artifacts, you’ll expand your base, craft equipment for yourself, and improve “skills and proficiencies”. The difficulty of the game will also scale depending on your level and the time you’ve spent inside each loop.
PUBG: Black Budget doesn’t have a release date or window yet, but if you want a chance to check it out, you can sign up for the closed alpha playtest right now via the game’s new official Steam page. Stay tuned for more.
