APB Reloaded scores 3 million players in one week
The dust has finally settled on APB’s Reloaded reboot-up-the-arse, and it’s racked up a none-too-shabby 3 million registered players in the eight days after its release on Steam, according to Gamespot. The original, ridiculously troubled release apparently notched up a mere 130,000 players, but we heard rumours that this number was actually far lower.
It’s also currently sitting at number 15 in the Steam charts, making it the second most popular free-to-play game after the evergreen Team Fortress 2. 3 million isn’t such a bad number, too – it’s obviously dwarfed by the likes of Skyrim, but it’s almost up there with Battlefield 3′s 5 million copies. It’s also just over a quarter of the uber-popular League of Legends’ player base, too.
APB Reloaded open beta hits Steam, play now for free
Multiplayer cops and robbers game APB has broken out of its cell and barged rowdily onto Steam. For more than a year, GamersFirst have been rebuilding it as a free to play game after APB’s first run came to an abrupt end after its creators, Realtime Worlds, went into administration.
It’s now called APB Reloaded, and you can download the client for free now. GamersFirst say that this is an open beta phase. They’ll continue to fix bugs and refine things as players go to war. You get to create a cop or a crook using the fantastic character creation suite, and then roam the city of San Paro in squads, where you’ll be assigned missions designed to dynamically match you up with players of a similar level. Will it work? Has it improved since it we gave it 55 in our APB review back in summer 2010? There’s only one way to find out. Are you playing it? What do you think so far?
APB Reloaded closed beta is about to launch
Invitations encouraging gamers to sign up for the closed beta of APB Reloaded have been sent out, signalling that the event is due to start soon. Read on for the details.
APB Reloaded will be protected by PunkBuster
In the latest APB Reloaded Developer Blog, the team reveal how they’ll be clamping down on cheaters with PunkBuster. Read on for the details.
APB player customisations will be preserved for Reloaded
If APB was notable for anything, it was the vast levels of customization that it allowed. Literally, if you could think it you could probably do it. GamersFirst are assuring players that the many hours they put into their creative endeavours will be preserved for when the game is resurrected as APB: Reloaded.
APB: Reloaded beta scheduled for February
Cops and robbers MMO APB is due to be reborn this year as a free to play title at the hands of GamersFirst, who bought the game from the ailing Realtime Worlds last year. They’ve just announced that a closed beta for APB: Reloaded will be kicking off in February.
APB: Reloaded to have Premium Accounts, will charge for customisation options
GamersFirst boss Bjorn Book-Larsson has been talking about some of the things we can expect to pay for when APB is relaunched next year as a free-to-play title. He talks about some of the differences between free and premium accounts, and about plans to charge for advanced customisation options.
Interview: GamersFirst on bringing back APB
As reported last week, cops and robbers MMO APB has been bought by GamersFirst, who have announced that the game will return as a free-to-play game in the first half of next year. We’ve had a chat with GamersFirst CTO and COO, Bjorn Book-Larsson about the next chapter for the troubled MMO, discussing the game’s potential, the new features GamersFirst will be working on, and the reasons why APB failed in the first place.
APB finds buyer, could be up and running by end of the year
Realtime World’s struggling cops vs. crooks MMO APB has found a buyer in the form of the K2 network, who has purchased the game for $1.5 million. K2 owns the GamersFirst service, which runs a series of free-to-play MMOs including War Rock and 9 Dragons. There’s no news yet on whether or not APB will be part of this service, but K2 mention that the game could be back up and running by the end of the year. We’ll know more later this week when the official announcement is made.
EA offering free game to APB players
If you bought a digital copy of APB and feel let down by the game’s recent closure, you can claim compensation from EA in the form of a free replacement game.
Rumour: Epic Games might buy APB
Epic Games have been highlighted as potential buyers for APB, the massively multiplayer shooter from recently bankrupt Dundee studio Realtime Worlds. APB was built upon Epic’s Unreal engine, and their Vice President and co-founder Mark Rein even helped present APB at 2009′s Penny Arcade Expo. When asked if Epic had plans to buy APB, spokesperson Dana Cowley didn’t say no. Her quote’s below.
APB to close tomorrow
Cops vs crooks MMO APB is officially closing, as reported by our occasional drinking buddy, EDGE* and confirmed by APB’s official announcement. It’s garnished by a broad swathe of bittersweet quotes from the development team. Here’s the initial announcement:
“APB has been a fantastic journey, but unfortunately that journey has come to a premature end. Today we are sad to announce that despite everyone’s best efforts to keep the service running; APB is coming to a close. It’s been a pleasure working on APB and with all its players. Together we were building an absolutely amazing game, and for that, we thank you. You guys are awesome!
From all of the Realtime World staff we thank you for your continued support.
The servers are still up, so join the party and say goodbye!
- Ben ‘APBMonkey’ Bateman (Community Officer)”
[via Edge]
*He mostly refers to himself in the third person.
Why Realtime Worlds failed – an ex-dev’s account
Luke Halliwell, a former employee of Realtime Worlds who was let go when they went into administration, has posted the first in a series of his attempts to explain the circumstances surrounding the company’s catastrophe earlier this year.
APB doing quite well. 130,000 PC gamers agree.
As we recently reported, Realtime Worlds had entered into administration on the back of the poor performance of their urban sandbox MMO, APB. Today, Realtime Worlds released APB’s player statistics for the first time, and it’s not doing quite as badly as everyone thought.
23 Realtime Worlds devs re-hired for MyWorld
Twenty three former Realtime Worlds employees have been offered their jobs back. They’ve been asked to resume work on Project: MyWorld, following interest in the social game from investors.
