APB to relaunch next year as F2P
Failed MMO back from the dead.
Realtime Worlds' failed action MMO APB will relaunch under new management next year.
Reloaded Productions, owned by GamersFirst, bought all the intellectual property rights for APB and plans to relaunch it as a free-to-play game in the first half of 2011.
Those who bought the game will be able to log on again once everything's sorted – you didn't chuck your copy away, did you?
"APB was a game that had several exceptional features and some brilliant ideas, even though it was plagued by some initial balance and monetization issues," said Bjorn Book-Larsson, CTO and COO of GamersFirst.
"We want to take all the unique features of this title, such as its unparalleled character, weapon and car customisation systems, and convert the game to a true free-to-play game.
"We are deep into the planning and early execution stages for this next chapter of APB and we will share more details in the near future. In order to put 'Gamers First' we will also actively engage the community in many aspects of all the planned changes."
The story of APB and Realtime Worlds' demise is a long and complicated one, but Lee Bradley's expose for Eurogamer reveals all.