Attack on Escape from Tarkov? PUBG makers working on new open world shooter

The PUBG makers also want a piece of the Extraction pie. The Battle Royale pioneers have big plans for their new open world project.

The PUBG developers want to achieve what Escape from Tarkov has long achieved: make an Extraction shooter popular.  Krafton plans to release a representative of the genre by the end of 2024 or early 2025 with Project BlackBudget a game that focuses on open world and PvPvE.

This is according to the (publisher’s latest financial report) of games like PUBG: Battlegrounds or The Callisto Protocol . Concrete details about the project are still unclear, but we already have a rough idea:

• The planned game currently has the working title Project BlackBudget, the final release name is currently unknown.
• BlackBudget is currently scheduled for release between late 2024 and early 2025.
• The project is being worked on by PUBG: Studios, who most recently developed PUBG: Battlegrounds and PUBG: New States.
• For Project BlackBudget, a dynamic open world with battles against AI opponents and also human players is planned – they want to focus on satisfying gunplay and unpredictable experiences .
• Project BlackBudget could be released not only for PC but also for consoles and mobile.

Extraction as a new shooter trend?

Krafton himself explicitly wants to get involved in the extraction shooter genre, which enjoys great popularity thanks to games like Escape from Tarkov or Hunt: Showdown. In the meantime, more and more studios are fishing in this pond – Activision, for example, is currently trying its hand at it with its CoD Warzone 2 game mode DMZ. Most recently, the new shooter Marauders, which is currently still in Early Access, has attracted attention!

What else is happening in PUBG

In mid-2022, PUBG received its biggest update to date, complete with a new map. Before that, the Battle Royale pioneer switched to a Free2Play model, which doubled player numbers but also caused a fair amount of criticism.

Originally, Krafton seemed even more focused on expanding PUBG in the future. Rumours and alleged leaks about a SciFi and a Wild West spin-off did the rounds in the meantime. However, the reports don’t seem to be true so far – or Krafton has reversed its plans.

What do you think of Krafton and PUBG: Studios trying their hand at the Extraction shooter genre? Are you excited for what could be coming or does the announcement leave you rather cold? Drop us a line in the comments