Keeping track of all the games currently under development as part of the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds IP has become an increasingly difficult task, as it seems like a new one crops up every few months. The latest example has just been confirmed by PUBG parent company Krafton under the codename Project Cowboy. As the name implies, this is a shooter said to be a standalone version of the popular PUBG custom game that allows only specific western-themed weapons.
The exclusive announcement was made by South Korean outlet Bloter. Bloter says Krafton has officially announced the existence of Project Cowboy, and that it will be an open-world shooter on PC and consoles. It's being internally developed by Krafton, which is the parent company of studios including Bluehold and PUBG Studio. While Project Cowboy is apparently inspired by PUBG's cowboy mode, it's being developed as a new IP in the PUBG universe.
As for why Krafton is making the game in the first place, it says it is due to the requests of PUBG players. Clearly, the game publisher and developer sees a market for Project Cowboy that PUBG isn't already delivering. It sees Project Cowboy as a way to expand on PUBG alongside other in-development spin-offs to the popular battle royale game.
The big question to be answered is just what kind of game Project Cowboy is. If it's just a standalone battle royale game, it begs the question as to why it couldn't simply be added as a new mode in PUBG. The description of "open-world shooter" could imply a battle royale, though it could also imply something different like Red Dead Redemption; a possibility that's certain to provoke some excitement. Until Krafton makes clear whether Project Cowboy will feature single-player or a story campaign, that may be too presumptuous.
Krafton is experimenting with different types of games. Krafton's Thunder Tier One is a top-down tactical shooter that's currently in development, and The Callisto Protocol is a third-person horror game that, despite all appearances, is set in the PUBG universe. Project Cowboy could be anything.
However, if Krafton is serious about making Project Cowboy because PUBG players wanted it, it should be something like the custom game mode fans have been playing. Which is to say, it should be a PvP game where players use revolvers, shotguns, and basic rifles. At this point, only time will tell what it involves.
Project Cowboy is in development for PC and consoles.
Source: Bloter