When it comes to the discussion about live service games, it seems that even its fans are neglecting to bring PUBG into the conversation. The narrative has become about how Fortnite has gotten ahead of PUBG too much. And yet, PUBG is also far ahead of every other live service title out there, including the likes of Marvel Rivals. Today, it seems that Krafton is set to launch a new chapter for the real originator of the live service genre.
A PUBG player who goes by the Twitter handle Li_ovovo, AKA XIAOLI_ovo, shared a picture of something they referred to as Project Black Budget.
They then proceeded to share this description (edited for clarity):
Key Features
- High-quality first-person shooting and gunfight
- 2.5×2.5 km map with urban & underground exploration
- Dynamically shrinking game zone
- Customizable weapons & gear
- Roaming creatures & human NPCs
- Endgame boss battle underground
We will note that they also gave this clarification:
“I know there may be some misunderstandings, but what I want to say is that the official release won’t be too soon.”
They also wrote in their description that they are “Just forwarding some content, NO LEAKS.”
In so many words, XIAOLI_ovo is saying that this information was not leaked in any way. It seems that what they mean is that this information is publicly available somewhere, but Krafton has yet to push out a press release or start the formal marketing for PUBG Black Budget. This information may still have been datamined, but either way, we may be looking forward to the official announcement for PUBG Black Budget soon.
In the current challenging video game market, it stands to reason that Krafton are also looking for new ways to expand PUBG. They have very publicly been investing in several video game studios. While most gamers will remember them for saving Tango Gameworks and its title Hi-Fi Rush, they are also the same Krafton that has once again held layoffs at Striking Distance Studios. That’s the studio behind The Callisto Protocol and [REDACTED], and this time, most of their staff have been laid off.
So Krafton, much like NetEase, TenCent, and Savvy Games, have only so much money to experiment with. Saudi owned Savvy Games broke with expectations when they lowered instead of increased their investment in Nintendo. While the internet ran with rumors that TenCent would buy FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa, they’re actually stuck in negotiations to take over Ubisoft. And NetEase very famously and visibly reduced their investment in games around the world, and that turned out to also include projects in their native China.
PUBG Black Budget itself does not have an unlimited budget, and Krafton surely believes they have a winning game plan to bring engagement and profits back up again. Maybe they’re looking to take Fortnite’s crown, or maybe they just want to see how far they can go. But you can rest assured that if this is real, it will have repercussions that reverberate in the whole industry.
