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APB Reloaded set for retail release

Laura Parker
By Laura Parker, Associate Editor

[UPDATE] Pulled Facebook post claims online shooter is slated to hit North American shelves later this year; GamersFirst says nothing is final.

In November last year, online game publisher GamersFirst announced that it had purchased the intellectual property rights to Realtime Worlds' abandoned online multiplayer shooter APB, announcing that the relaunched free-to-play title, APB Reloaded, would finally see the light of day sometime in 2011. The studio then opened a public beta for the game in February this year.

Now it looks like ABP Reloaded will also be getting a retail release, with North American publishing and distribution company IGS picking up the rights. According to the Facebook page of IGS CEO and founder Paul G Lombardi, the retail version of ABP Reloaded will be released during this year's holiday season, with a price of US$29.99. As for why a gamer would purchase a boxed copy of a free-to-play game, Lombardi noted it will include $45 worth of unspecified "value."

APB first launched in late June 2010 to tepid critical reception, logging some 130,000 users by late August. Following the game's release, developer Realtime Worlds collapsed, and the game was shut down indefinitely.

Since GamersFirst took over the abandoned project, the publisher's subsidiary, Reload Productions, took charge of the development and maintenance of APB Reloaded.

[UPDATE] After the publication of this story, Lombardi pulled his note from Facebook and GamersFirst has since provided GameSpot with the following comment:

"Given that APB Reloaded has been the most talked about online game this summer and its unprecedented growth in open beta players, it has become very attractive to large institutions in the game distribution business. In just six weeks of open beta the game has attracted over 600,000 users and over a quarter million fans on the game's fan page on Facebook. As a result of this success, we've been approached by retail partners to launch the title on retail shelves. Although we are evaluating our options, we have not picked a potential partner as of now. GamersFirst is also committed to the Free2Play model and any retail strategy will be guided by those principles."

[CORRECTION]: In one instance, this article originally referred to Lombardi incorrectly as the CEO of GamersFirst instead of IGS. We regret the error.

Laura Parker
By Laura Parker, Associate Editor

Laura Parker is the Associate Editor of GameSpot Australia. She loves adventure games, sparkly stuff, Trivial Pursuit, cake, Master Chief, earthworms, and rhetorical questions. She once stole a sandwich from Peter Molyneux.

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poordude1089 5 pts

I'm taking a wait-and-see attitude on this game. We'll see how this game works out once it's rereleased

raty2000 5 pts

airshocker@ The game didn't "sucked", they just have major problems with the client and server. Basicly the game didn't chage and all they've done is fix some bugs and the game is fantastic(playing since closed beta on apb and in apb reloaded) on topic @ if this game goes retail then it loses it's spark...

airshocker 9 pts

Am I the only one that thinks we shouldn't be giving games second chances? I personally think if a game sucked the first time around, don't buy the second one. For example, Age of Conan. Funcom made a mess of it and fixed it a year later, when the damage was already done. Therefore, The Secret World, and Funcom, can go to hell. Why would you play this game after the first one failed miserably? I see no point, and no reason to reward the developers who bought the rights to the game.

brendanhunt1 5 pts

When they say "free to play" they mean no monthly fee

blakeney 5 pts

@ runstalker I was about to post my opinion about how this game will fail. But read your post, and thought fair enough. Has APB really changed that much then? My main issue with it was the fact it was "cardboard cutout" in the "persistant world" department. Have they resolved the aimbot/hack issues? And is it still "he with highest fire rate wins"? If any of the above is still the same, i honestly belive APB will fail time and time again. (and they are the main points i can remember, there was more fails then that though.) Imo R* should buy the rights to this game, and scrap EVERYTHING other then the customization aspects, and make a real GTA mmo!

DiscGuru101 21 pts

I thought I was hallucinating when I first saw this article. 600,000 beta users is rather surprising. I looked hard at this game. Unopened free copy sitting right next to me...

Ice-Cube 15 pts

I pre-ordered APB for $60 (with tax) and what is the new company offering veteran players? Bring over your old characters looks and no guns/cars you've earned. I hope there is more to it than I read for us vet players who paid good money for the original game.

winshot 31 pts

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

megabig 5 pts

They have to make some money.. and those who play the game on consoles instead of PC will have to pay for retailers who actually hold the game for them.

warrner11 7 pts

hmm so your not buyin the game.... but rather a $%!^ load of DLC. And its $45 worth for only $30

runstalker 5 pts

Until you've played the remixed, extensively patched new APB, it's not very fair to pass judgment based on the old mid-2010/rushed to market/quick to fail version of the game.

MuffintopX 5 pts

They obviously DO think people are stupid enough to pay for this, just read half the comments and you will see.

monson21502 8 pts

too many other good shooters gonna be out to be bothered with this...

winshot 31 pts

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

winshot 31 pts

FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL!!!! GamersFirst sucks and now this stupid sell... GamersFirst will be closing soon? lol

Frosty192 25 pts

Gamersfirst ruined this game with leased weapons. Sorry I am just going to let this game die which sucks because it was fun.

Guster730 8 pts

Oh my God you guys are stupid saying "WHY ARE THEY MAKING US PAY" For God's sake read you bozos. It'll just include content IF YOU CHOOSE to buy it. Don't like it? JUST PLAY IT FOR FREE.

Guster730 8 pts

@ziproy No, it's free. If you buy the retail version it'll just include some content.

ziproy 44 pts

I spent $50 on this game and I actualyl enjoyed it alot. Now you're telling me I have to buy it again??

Dragonballz290 5 pts

This was far worse than Final Fantasy XIV. At least that was playable. I thought this game was free but I refused to download crap on my PC. Now they expect people to pay for this? I can make this sitting on the toilet.

DAOWAce 5 pts

Uh.. how does a free download game get a retail price? Do they think people are this stupid? Or, do I have things wrong and this 'open beta' with the cash shop isn't their vision of a 'launched' game? I'm sticking with the former, because they've stated it's completely free to play and look like they have no plans to change it. Again, does IGS think people are this stupid?

MfKiNg360 5 pts

guys...guys nothing there says the game is gona be buy and play it just says its gona be able for purchase, which mostlikly means its gona do what Rom ( runes of magic) did u can buy in shows for a price and get a decent amount of items which would have been payed for in the in game store so APBs retail would mostlikly come with a few premium guns ( perminate guns ) which would on be available in the amass underground

rveegee 5 pts

PCGAMER included the full version of APB Reloaded in their dvd from issue 216...

m4rkoca 5 pts

Lol, they've done absolutely nothing to fix its problems. This is gonna fail miserably.

OJ_the_LION 5 pts

They're serious? It's adequate as a F2P game, but between the hackers, the dodgy shooting mechanics and the inadequate MMO parts it doesn't pass muster as a regular paid MMO. Playing itt was a bit like playing FF14, I could see some genuinely good ideas buried under a lot of bad implementation.

Germandude2 5 pts

-_- wow they messed up by putting a price tag on it lol, should have stuck with f2p now its gonna fail like the first

DuaneDog 5 pts

I'll add that I've been in the beta... it is free... and I only played it for like a week before it was just mind numbingly boring and lacking of depth. Retail release??? You have to be kidding! The screenshots don't look all that bad... but trust me, the animations are horrible and it is a jerky motion sickness nightmare.

DuaneDog 5 pts

Problem is you have ultra polished games like WoW that have spent years getting the gameplay tight if MMO is your thing. Played Rift beta and been in WoW on and off for a long time. APB isnt horribly bad but it just doesn't have the smoothness it needs to be retail IMO. Even Rift struggles to get it just right and compete with the WoW gold standard. Plus APG is just WAY too simplistic. Playing something like a Frost Mage in WoW means you are going to have like 20 spells that you use frequently if you are good and perhaps 8-10 that are pretty much required not to get pwned hard in PvP. APG you get a weak shooter and instanced neighborhoods. I'm hoping it does well because I'd LOVE to see a GTA like game make it as a MMO action type game... but I just thing the tech APG is too dated. It makes WoW look like a graphic powerhouse release... and that says alot.

flashn00b 5 pts

Why would a free-to-play game go on retail? That makes no sense!

hahamanin 7 pts

m enjoying the beta at the moment but i dont think i will buy the game....i think it sud be free2play

Death_Blade_182 15 pts

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

julion76 5 pts

@LpcWarrior why not try it out while its still in beta? you'll find out by yourself. I like it tbh, you can even watch some streamin of gameplay on justin.tv

xGlenn11x 5 pts

I have not played it, but I hope it can become more successful than its predecessor.

niptuck117 9 pts

Where is the promised console release?

boarwar 7 pts

grab the defibulator.....CLEAR

zool152004 5 pts

At the minute its free to play (subscription wise) which is great but what i wanna know is are they gonna keep this free to play model or go back to monthly fees if they are re-releasing it. That info would be helpful guys.

Evz0rz 5 pts

Wonder what happens for the people who own the original?

Goyoshi12 12 pts

Wha...wait...I...you...I just....they...he...she... I have no comment to this except I'm speechless. :|

LpcWarrior 13 pts

Hope they fixed the myriad of problems with it.

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