aespa Unveils New Collaborative Song “Dark Arts” with PUBG; Debuting on Stage at eSports PNC 2025 on July 27

The K-pop quartet aespa has released a new song titled “Dark Arts” through a collaboration with KRAFTON’s battle royale game “PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS.” Composed of Karina, Winter, Giselle, and Ningning, aespa appears in the music video for this track as fighters dropped into the PUBG world, wielding rifles and shooting at enemies from behind motorcycles. “Dark Arts” is the follow-up to their most recent release, “Dirty Work,” which reached position 5 on the Billboard Global 200 chart. The song begins with lyrics such as “Ain’t no stoppin’ no, ain’t no stoppin’ no, ain’t no stoppin’ the show” over a sparse R&B beat, and it features an addictive chorus that reads “Dark arts, black magic/ Can’t handle it?/ Can’t have it/ Feel the power, feel the force/ We a-ta-ta-tackin’.” In the music video, the members fight against enemy forces filled in warehouses while holding weapons engraved with the aespa logo, and there are also scenes of them sniping at enemies dressed in tactical gear from atop hills. The video concludes with a dramatic sequence in which they secure the silver rune, board an open-top car, and enter a galaxy portal in another dimension. The collaboration with PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS becomes available for PC players starting on July 9 and for console players starting on July 17. Launched in 2017, this game is a prominent multiplayer battle royale title playable on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, and it enjoys widespread popularity among the global gaming community. Through this partnership, aespa further expands K-pop’s influence within the global gaming industry. The group will perform “Dark Arts” for the first time at the eSports PNC 2025 grand final, held at the Seoul Olympic Handball Stadium on July 27. Prior to that, they will also stage a performance at KCON LA 2025, taking place in Los Angeles from August 1 to 3, alongside other K-pop superstars such as NCT 127, RIIZE, KISS OF LIFE, MEOVV, NOWADAYS, MONSTA X, KEY, HWASA, YUQI, and CHOIHOJUNG.