There was a rumor last week that the rights to Realtime Worlds‘ MMO All Points Bulletin (APB) had been sold to free-to-play company K2 Network. It turns out that rumor is true, and APB is now set to become a free-to-play title.

K2 is best known for running the GamersFirst portal which focuses on offering free online games from Asia that have been localized for a Western audience. They all use the G1 credits system as an in-game revenue solution, something that APB players will probably have to use in the future.

Bjorn Book-Larsson, CTO and COO of GamersFirst commented:

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. 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.

Development of the game will be continued by Reloaded Productions, (apb gold)a wholly owned subsidiary of GamersFirst. It also looks likely the game will re-release with the name APB: Reloaded.

From Realtime Worlds’ point of view the sale means staff can at least get any pay and holiday money owning to them. It is a shame that the original team could not continue to be involved, however.

via Games Press

Matthew’s Opinion

As this is going to be a free-to-play title existing owners of APB have no advantage or incentive to keep playing. When the game is re-released it will need a new client download and be a very different game I imagine.

I’m sure Reloaded Productions would be interested in taking on a few key staff that worked on the original game, but that depends on whether any are willing to move from Scotland to the U.S. and if in fact there are any staff left still looking for jobs.

Acquiring the APB rights is good for GamersFirst as it’s a game already known about, and will have the advantage of being free in the future. That’s sure to attract a few new players to the portal. Existing APB players may also be interested to see how the game changed to become free.