Thu, Sep 16, 2010 | 18:06 BST
APB shut down, announces staff
APB, the crime MMO published by now bankrupt developer Realtime Worlds, has closed.
The following was posted today on the game’s forum:
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)
No specific timing was given for a final shut-off. The game is now free to play.
APB was released in late June and early July.
“24 hours”
GI has now published quotes from administrator Begbies Traynor, who said today that depsite interest from 300 parties, none of a final shortlist of six were “comfortable with buying it as a live operation.”
Able added that “staff had been told what the position is”, and the game is expected to be shut down within the next 24 hours.
The news is the latest – and most likely the last – in a series of terrible blows for the Scottish developer, which went into administration last month after laying off its MyWorld team.
Despite the lay-offs, RTW claimed it was “fully committed” to APB at the time.
The company recently rehired 23 staff, with the intention of keeping MyWorld going until a buyer could be found.
It’s been rumoured that an American firm is interested in the social project.
While searching for an APB buyer, RTW said the game had 130,000 registered users, and that the average spend per paying punter was $28 per month.
Never more. Such a crying shame. To all those involved: we salute you.
34 comments
#1
AHA-Lambda
16/09/10, 5:11 pm
fuck that was quick! =/
#2
Quiiick
16/09/10, 5:15 pm
rats …
#3
Sleazy Bastard
16/09/10, 5:18 pm
Maybe they should have gone through with the 360 version in the first place. Live users are more likely to be interested in this game than PC users, seeing that they have a lot of offer in the MMORPG genre…
#4
theevilaires
16/09/10, 5:19 pm
….real quick. Can remember it like yesterday they first opened house. Oh well don’t exclude consoles next time guys.
#5
Patrick Garratt
16/09/10, 5:20 pm
Bloody awful.
#6
Gekidami
16/09/10, 5:21 pm
^ Like the game itself.
#7
2plus2equals5
16/09/10, 5:21 pm
WHAT?
#8
Johnny Cullen
16/09/10, 5:23 pm
Bummer.
#9
cookiejar
16/09/10, 5:26 pm
Shame.
#10
spiderLAW
16/09/10, 5:26 pm
Wow! that was too quick. Poor guys. The game was bad but still is sad.
#11
Crysis
16/09/10, 5:26 pm
guess the interwebs overhyped this one by continually reminding us that the dude behind this was in the original GTA team, so they tricked us all into thinking it’ll be a GTA MMO…
Little off topic, but i’d like a Saints Row MMO, imagine how insane that’ll be
#12
theevilaires
16/09/10, 5:27 pm
I agree #6. I saw some Giant Bomb quick look vids and the game was kinda crap man. I like the jump over the fence animation though
#13
Gekidami
16/09/10, 5:30 pm
Its their own fault for making such a poor game. In the MMO genre your game better be awesome otherwise you’re gonna feel the burn when no one wants to buy it because they dont think its worth the monthly fee.
#14
Patrick Garratt
16/09/10, 5:31 pm
Updated. Looks like it’ll be gone tomorrow.
#15
Prof.Dr.Moertel
16/09/10, 5:33 pm
Ouch.
#16
Pennee4
16/09/10, 5:34 pm
This was very strange. I was logged onto their forums, there were DEV posts of an update today being delayed.
Then suddenly this post and no more forums at all.
#17
Debabrata Nath
16/09/10, 5:36 pm
This sucks
#18
DSB
16/09/10, 5:46 pm
Like Geki says, it wasn’t exactly an act of [deity].
Shame for the guys who had their workplace thrown away like that, though.
#19
Elven_Star
16/09/10, 5:50 pm
Another game which looked much cooler in trailers.
#20
The_Red
16/09/10, 5:54 pm
Wow… just wow. That was beyond fast. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a big MMO shut down so fast.
#21
Patrick Garratt
16/09/10, 6:07 pm
It’s free to play until they turn it off – http://twitter.com/benbateman/status/24680842001
#22
xino
16/09/10, 6:17 pm
this is retarded:/
#23
loki
16/09/10, 6:23 pm
“APB has been a fantastic” shit
You choose PC and you FAIL
#24
theevilaires
16/09/10, 6:29 pm
wheres BDH now
go PC…. go bust (LMAO)! PS3 10 year life cycle FTW!
#25
FadeLive
16/09/10, 6:46 pm
Well the game sucked so its not really suprising, remember I thinking this game had so much potential until I actually played it.
Sucks for the dev though, I still play Crackdown 1 from time to time so hopefully they will survive the shutdown of APB and make something awesome again.
#26
Yoshi
16/09/10, 6:50 pm
I just emailed them demanding a refund of my £30. I very much doubt i’ll get it back but shuting down the servers only a few months after release is pathetic!
#27
xavdeman
16/09/10, 7:19 pm
Should have made Crackdown 2. The result of stubbornness: 2 crappy games, CD2 and APB. And one bankrupt developer. Way to go guys!
Not everything needs to be an MMO. And especially not one so flawed since before beta. They knew driving and shooting would be crap before it came out, it’s their own fault.
#28
joshua nash
16/09/10, 7:20 pm
R.I.P
#29
G1GAHURTZ
16/09/10, 7:27 pm
Boom and bust.
#30
Nozz
16/09/10, 7:44 pm
Not in the slightest bit surprised. From the moment i played the beta i had a feeling this would happen. Its a shame because it was one of my most wanted games that i was willing to buy a new gaming rig for..
Hopefully other Devs have noticed the amazing customisation that was in the game! /pokes Rockstar
#31
Hellequin
16/09/10, 7:58 pm
What a shame huh?
#32
DarkElfa
16/09/10, 10:06 pm
Wow BDH, you find a yourself a troll buddy in Loki?
#33
lizhiyong
17/09/10, 3:01 am
input this url ( http://www.ashops.us) in google sirch .wonderful website.you will love it .thanks
#34
Droid
17/09/10, 3:36 pm
Don’t see why everyone is PC bashing… if it’s a crap game… like this was… it doesn’t matter which format it was on.