Failed MMO APB To Be Resurrected As Free-To-Play Game

Two months ago, we discussed news that Realtime Worlds' action MMO APB closed its doors only a few months after launch, when it became clear that player interest and subscriber numbers couldn't begin to recoup the massive development cost. A few days ago, a company called Reloaded Productions, owned by free-to-play publisher GamersFirst, acquired all the rights and assets to APB. The company plans to relaunch the game as APB: Reloaded in the first half of 2011, abandoning its unusual business model in favor of free-to-play accounts supplemented by microtransactions and premium services.

Comments

The question

[mark72005]

Would anyone play it for free? Got some bad reviews IIRC

Re:MMO bubble officially popped?

[Relic of the Future]

It's not like this is the first free-to-play MMO, as I'm sure at least one of the linked articles will mention. D&D Online and Lord of the Rings Online have been making much more money since they became "free". DDO's Revenue is up 500%.

It was decent

[jonxor]

I played the game before it shut down. Imagine GTA Multiplayer, (much better than MTA). The only problems with it were the massive amounts of hackers and a broken Matchmaking system (which was easily fixable, it matched players up by "threat level" which could be manipulated by actions, rather than a players "rating" which determined progress in the game (unlocked vehicles, weapons, clothes, etc). The gameplay was extremely fun when you weren't matched up against a hacker, or somebody 10 times your rating. I would play it again if they bring it back, and do something about the hacking and matchmaking. There were no real "levels" in the game like a traditional MMO. Someone fresh into the game could make kills on veterans, and win missions, if they were skilled enough (although that didn't happen often, it was do-able).

Re:It's a very valid model for some games

[Dutch Gun]

Some people don't like monthly fees. Makes them feel like they have to play to get their money's worth. Silly perhaps but it is what it is. My coworker is like that. He likes to buy points in DDO, rather than pay a subscription. Makes him happier.

It's not really silly. Say, for instance, your friend would like to put the game down for a month or two (maybe try some other games, MMOs or otherwise). With a subscription fee, short of canceling the account, it's not very practical to do this, as you're essentially paying for a service you're not using.

Subscription fees work well enough for people that play one MMO exclusively and regularly. For everyone else, a la carte offerings make more sense.

Re:It's a very valid model for some games

[hitmark]

There is also options open to points that are not to subscription. In a way, points makes official "gold trading", in that one can pay for items that will make it unlikely that some time consuming to gather and make item will break. Note, weapons and armor is not sold that can not be found as loot during ordinary play. All that is sold is stuff that remove time taken for grinding, or that make your character visually special (but give no in-game benefit compared to what one can get playing for free).