Krafton have revealed PUBG spin-off Black Budget, just in time for alpha testing of the extraction shooter to kick off next month. As you might expect given the genre, this latest work from PUBG Studios is all about getting out of the bad vibe zone in good time, after shooting some baddies in said zone. Oh, sorry, tactically shooting some baddies in the bad vibe zone.
“You are a Contractor, a hardened veteran hired for a classified operation on an island at the edge of the world,” reads the Steam synopsis. “Your mission is to recover top-secret technology from an abandoned research facility. But there’s a catch: the island is trapped in a time loop, consumed by a supernatural phenomenon known as the Anomaly. Extract artifacts, research your findings, and uncover the truth behind the black-budget initiative, SAPIENS.”
Damn, don’t you just hate it when you, a jobbing tradesperson with a gun, get sent on a super secret tech-nabbing mission and the lab turns out to be on time warp island. Plus, you might get eaten by a thing that couldn’t be bothered to flip beyond page one of the big book of sci-fi thing names when picking its moniker. In all seriousness, the Steam page’s shots of fighting among swirling purple evilness look pretty fun.
Krafton promise that the world “grows more unpredictable with every loop”, with each trip out lasting about 30 minutes, with the Anomaly gradually shrinking the map much like classic PUBG’s battle royales. Between trips to Anomalyville, you’ll do the usual extraction shooter thing of huddling in an upgradeable base and tinkering with your gear so the purple stuff won’t get you next time.
You’ll be able to get a taste of all of that in PC-only closed alpha tests which are set to run between December 12th and 14th, then December 19th to 21st. Both session will be open to folks in North America, Europe, and Asia. You can request access to take part on the game’s Steam page.
If you do, tell the Anomaly I said hello and that it’s picked a nice shade of violet. Maybe it’ll pause in confusion long enough to buy you the few more seconds you need to hop back into the safety of your ammo-filled digs.
