Official first-party material is preferred. Press and community sources are used only when they add information that is not available in official materials, and those claims remain explicitly labelled.
| Source | Type | Reliability | Verified | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PUBG: Black Budget — Steam store page | official | high | 2026-07-28 | Primary source for game description, features, platform, system requirements. |
| KRAFTON — PUBG Studios announces December Closed Alpha Test for PUBG: Black Budget | official | high | 2026-07-28 | Official Krafton press release. Page returned 403 on direct fetch during research; facts corroborated via secondary press coverage instead. |
| Esports Insider — PUBG: Black Budget: Everything We Know | press | medium | 2026-07-28 | — |
| PCGamesN — PUBG extraction shooter, Black Budget, gets a date for its second playtest | press | medium | 2026-07-28 | — |
| bbpubg.com — Game Info (community hub) | community | medium | 2026-07-28 | Unofficial community-run hub, itself a competitor site. Facts here are cross-checked against Steam/official where possible; otherwise marked community_reported. |
| Steam Community — PUBG: Black Budget app hub | official | medium | 2026-07-28 | — |
| PUBG: Black Budget — official Steam announcements | official | high | 2026-07-31 | Primary source for playtest schedules, access instructions, test notices and dated game updates. |
| DSOGaming — First details and PC requirements for PUBG: Black Budget | press | medium | 2026-08-07 | Published November 21, 2025. Records the original system requirements as listed at reveal, which the Steam listing has since revised upward. Used only as the historical baseline for that comparison. |
| Inven Global — KRAFTON announces closed test for PUBG: Black Budget in EU | press | medium | 2026-08-07 | Sole detailed coverage of the April 22–24, 2026 invitation-only EU test. That test was under NDA, so no participant footage or impressions exist to corroborate it. |
| Insider Gaming — PUBG: Black Budget closed alpha saw more interest than anticipated | press | medium | 2026-08-07 | Reports PUBG Studios' own post-test statement following the first closed alpha. |
| Insider Gaming — PUBG: Black Budget second closed alpha test announced | press | medium | 2026-08-07 | Source for the May 8, 2026 announcement date, friend-invite rules and end-of-test wipe. |
| Shapes — PUBG: Black Budget loadouts and gear fan compilation | community | low | 2026-07-30 | Used only for explicitly community-reported entity names. Numeric claims are not treated as confirmed. |
| ARC Raiders — official Steam store page | official | high | 2026-07-31 | Primary source for the high-level comparison page. |
| Escape from Tarkov — official Steam store page | official | high | 2026-07-31 | Primary source for the high-level comparison page. |