APB(All Points Bulletin) also claims it will be the first multiplayer online game title where the player's skill determines the character's progression, as opposed to the normal model of time investment.

APB's release was met with some criticism due to a review embargo, planned to last until a week after release. Whilst review embargoes are commonplace in games review, the length caused a large backlash in the reviewing community. John Walker from Rockpapershotgun.com stated "Whatever their reason is, they've crossed a very obvious, very ridiculous line. When anyone anywhere can post a review to their blog, a comments thread, or a site's reader reviews section, it's beyond daft to think that the site itself cannot." [27] Realtime Worlds responded by stating "Before finalizing reviews, we want you to experience the full, rich experience of APB as it is meant to be seen. We want you to see wild customer customizations, player progression and clans making an impact on the living, breathing city of San Paro."

The camera focuses on the character from above the shoulder in which the currently equipped gun is held, allowing the player to peek around corners before they lean around to shoot. The player can also zoom in using right-click for better aim. Weapons cannot be bought straight away from NPC contacts. The player must achieve different goals to unlock the purchase of weapons, varying from completing a certain number of missions successfully, to achieving a high enough standing with a contact or organization. Contacts sell upgrades, equipment, weapons, vehicles and clothing. Ammunition can be bought from Joker Ammo vending machines, scattered around the 3 districts.(apb gold) Players cannot normally attack each other unless they are enemies or allies in a mission. This prevents death matching and griefing.

Depending on faction, players will have either a Prestige or Notoriety level, going from 0 to 5. This level goes up as the player successfully performs actions that help their faction's cause, such as killing players of the opposing faction, completing missions successfully, or by engaging in activities unique to their faction. Such unique faction actions include mugging pedestrians for Criminals, or arresting Criminals for Enforcers. The level decreases as the player hinders their faction; for instance, team-killing, dying, and destroying city objects as Enforcers. At level 0, a player is free to do as they please, and will not have enemy players dispatched against them. At level 1, the player receives slightly greater rewards from missions, and enemy players will be dispatched against them if they witness them performing certain actions. At level 2, the rewards are increased even more, and enemy players may be dispatched against their missions. At level 3, enemy players may be sent against the player regardless of actions, and rewards are increased further. At level 4, the player will receive increased rewards, enemy players will still be dispatched against them. At level 5, the player has a bounty put on their head, which allows them to interact with any player on the server. They can be killed by any Criminal or Enforcer, but a bounty player can kill anyone on the server. All rewards are greatly increased for a person with a bounty for being able to achieve goals while under extreme pressure. When someone kills a player with a bounty, unless they are an Enforcer killing a fellow Enforcer, the killer receives a large money and standing reward for being able to kill such a high-threat player. A bounty can be removed by death, or by reducing Prestige/Notoriety enough to reduce the level to 4.