Epic Linked to Possible APB Acquisition
All Points Bulletin closed its doors Thursday night, and now Epic Games has been named as a potential buyer.
After five years in development, Realtime Worlds' urban-themed MMOG All Points Bulletin (APB) went live in June 2010, inviting PC gamers to join the conflict between the Enforcers and the Criminals in a modern-day, fictional city called San Parto.
After receiving a lackluster reception, the game's developer restructured itself in July to provide better support for the game. By the middle of August, Realtime Worlds went into administration mode and closed its Colorado office while laying off most of the staff at its central Scotland office. Ultimately 250 jobs were lost altogether.
As of Thursday night, APB officially went offline.
"APB has been a fantastic journey, but unfortunately that journey has come to a premature end," said community officer Ben Bateman. "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."
According to BBC News, APB may be passed on to another developer. Earlier this month, Realtime Worlds sold the intellectual property (IP) rights to its social game Project: My World for an undisclosed amount. The developer is currently trying to do the same with APB, however so far the efforts have failed.
However now reports reveal that one potential buyer was actually named: Epic Games. Naturally, Epic confirmed nor denied the possibility. "Mark absolutely loves APB, and everyone here loved what they saw," said an Epic representative. "We've got our hands full of Gears of War 3, Bullet Storm and the recently announced Project Sword. If any talks like that are going on, then they would be confidential."
As Eurogamer's Johnny Minkley pointed out, Epic built the technology behind the MMOG--it would seemingly require little effort to get the game back up and running again. "Whether the potential is enough to outweigh the challenges of reviving a failed project is another matter," he said.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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sabot00 Survival of the fittest, read any of the reviews on APB and I think the game deserved to die.Reply -
give the game a chance, it went live for 2 months and now NO ONE is willing to give it a chance. Epic, at VERY least please give it more life than 2 months.Reply
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kriswitak I played this pile, and I can say it interested me for about 5 mins. After that 5 minute mark, I literally turned around an uninstalled it. This was the beta, but still. Most betas are going to give you an idea of what to expect.Reply -
sliem I haven't played but I heard that the game is not good. You shoot the head = same damage as shoot the hand.Reply -
Benihana It was on sale a while ago, I considered buying it but monthly fees for a game that didn't look so good turned me off. I got Borderlands and Killing Floor instead...Reply -
Travis Beane Action District is still working on getting the private server up.Reply
Through the community, it will live on for as long as they can.
Meant to give the game a try, but never did. -
proxy711 Ya i played the beta too, well it was really the stress test. But ya after about 10 mins playing i could tell it was going to flop big time. The game felt like it was a stable alpha of the game, not the final stage of beta.Reply
Kind of like how FFXIV feels which will once again fail in the US. -
theoutbound Wow, it's not worth it to buy a new MMO these days. I wouldn't even consider getting into a new one until it's had at least six months of life to ensure it will be around a week after it goes gold.Reply -
False_Dmitry_II BenihanaIt was on sale a while ago, I considered buying it but monthly fees for a game that didn't look so good turned me off. I got Borderlands and Killing Floor instead...Reply
At least for killing floor, you don't own the game. You own a license to the privilege of access to play it and that's all.