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November 16 2010

Reloaded Productions Inc,. a subsidiary of GamersFirst, which is part of the K2 Network, has bought APB from Realtime Worlds.  They intended to bring it back next year as a free-to-play game, hoping to make their money back from micro-transactions.

So far, they’ve indicated the first half of next year, which leads me to wonder whether the prep-time is for the hardware infrastructure, or whether the game will receive a lot of tweaks and bug fixes prior to re-release.

“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.” said a rep for GamersFirst.

GamersFirst is no stranger to the free-to-play model.  They publish several, including War Rock and OurWorld.

GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn Book-Larsson told Kotaku:

“What we try to do is find out what people like to play and make that work,” Book-Larsson says. The company gathers data from the players of their games and uses that to shape the way the games evolve. “It’s about building a long-term community and then modifying the game into something they want to play.

“First off you have to make a fun game, and then you get paid for it,” he continues, speaking of the free-to-play model, GamesFirst bread and butter.

Book-Larsson also told them that they’re going to be offering gear and weapon purchases (or leases) so that people can compete with more “advanced players right off the bat”.

This is certain to put some people off who will feel that you will need to purchase this gear in order to survive on the streets, as it will be near impossible to quest in order to get equivalent gear.  It’s something we’ve discussed on the podcast at length.

That said, it sounds like they’re planning a lot of changes in order to ensure the game succeeds this time around.  Course, some people will be very skeptical about trying it again… let alone buying it.  Will I have to purchase the actual game again if I still own a valid serial number?

Most likely.  And since no mention has been made of this yet, I’m guessing this will be a complete reboot, requiring yet another purchase of the original game.

Official Press Release:

Curfew To Be Lifted In San Paro
Leading Free2Play Publisher Opens New Chapter for APB: All Points Bulletin

Irvine, Calif., November 16, 2010 - GamersFirst (www.gamersfirst.com) today’s most popular Free2Play® MMO publisher, announces that Reloaded Productions, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Gamersfirst, has acquired all the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for the massively multiplayer online third-person shooter game “APB: All Points Bulletin,” previously developed and owned by Dundee-based Realtime Worlds Ltd.

In September 2010, the joint administrators, Ken Pattullo and Paul Dounis, from business and restructuring specialist Begbies Traynor, said efforts to rescue Realtime Worlds had been unsuccessful but renewed efforts were made to conclude a sale of the IPR.

“We are obviously very happy to have concluded the sale but at the same time very much regret the loss of jobs as a result of the closure of Realtime Worlds,” said Paul Dounis of Begbies Traynor. “As a consequence of the IPR asset sale all outstanding wages and holiday pay claims will be met in full. GamersFirst is a pioneer in the free-to-play space, thus APB will be re-launched as a free-to-play model game rather than the previous retail model. People who previously bought the game can now look forward to playing it again once it’s back online.”

“The acquisition of APB is an important complement to our main Free2Play™ third-party publishing business,” says Joshua Hong, CEO of GamersFirst. “We believe in putting our gamers first by encouraging the community to tell us what they like or dislike and then incorporate that feedback into our evolutionary development process. The core principle is to completely eliminate all economic barriers for gamers to experience our games.”

GamersFirst will publish APB: Reloaded as a AAA Free2Play™ title, developed by US based Reloaded Productions Inc. using Unreal Engine 3.

“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,” says Bjorn Book-Larsson, CTO and COO of GamersFirst, and responsible for GamersFirst’s studio and game development efforts. “We want to take all the unique features of this title, such as its unparalleled character, weapon and car customization 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.”

APB: All Points Bulletin is a massively multiplayer online third-person shooter game based in the modern-day fictional city of San Paro featuring two factions, Enforcers and Criminals. Players can join either faction, and then form their own customized team and group to join the constant battle across the urban landscape.

GamersFirst and Reloaded Productions plan to launch the next chapter of APB in the first half of 2011.

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