The creators of Escape from Tarkov, the infamously difficult evacuation shooter from Battlestate Games, are being funded by PUBG publisher Krafton. At first, Tarkov did compete in a small way with other battle royale games, but since 2017, the game has established a distinct market, and other developers are now looking to capitalise on the model as well.

The information was made public when PUBG Studios' intentions for a new extraction shooter game with the working title Project BlackBudget were included in a financial report issued by PUBG publisher Krafton.

According to the report, Krafton is putting the extraction shooter genre into the mainstream based on our PUBG production and service experience. The publisher is considering launching it on PC, console, and mobile, and the project is described as having ‘an ever-changing PvPvE open-world and gratifying gunplay that create unpredictable and interesting encounters.’

Even Dr. Disrespect is working on an extraction shooter called Deadrop with his brand-new game studio, Midnight Society. Over the next few years, it's safe to assume that more studios, publishers, and well-known IPs will get involved in the genre. According to the report, Krafton previously anticipated that the new game will be released in 2024 or 2025.

It is still unclear exactly under what name Project BlackBudget will be released. However, it's important to note that Krafton has a sizable number of other games in active production as well, suggesting that the Tarkov competitor may not be the company's top focus at this time. For instance, Krafton's upcoming dark fantasy game has already been officially announced and given a teaser, indicating that it is further advanced than BlackBudget may be.

As sluggish as Battlestate Games might occasionally be, it is undeniable that Escape from Tarkov has advanced much since its first release to the general public. In all probability, Krafton's extraction shooter won't be released until late 2024 at the earliest; in the meantime, Tarkov will undoubtedly receive a few more rounds of updates. PUBG Studios will therefore have its job cut out for it