You may remember that Gamers First recently bought the rights to Realtime Worlds' troubled MMO, APB. Now the company's COO, Bjorn Book-Larsson, plans to turn it into a free-to-play game, suggesting that the Dundee studio's original concept was flawed to begin with.
"I think there was this Frankenstein way of reaching out to the users and customers, with an EA distribution model combined with an online MMO and a free-to-play element as well. It just didn’t work," Book-Larsson told Develop. "If someone ran out of game time and couldn’t pay for more, that in turn put their friends off buying more. It was a domino effect waiting to happen."
Speaking shortly after acquiring the rights to APB for a rumoured £1.5 million (Develop notes that other "more reliable" sources put the number as significantly less), Book-Larsson explained that his company's experience in the free-to-play model will ensure the game's future success.
"We expect around 80-90 per cent of APB’s players won’t ever pay for anything, and 10-20 per cent of the user-base being more dedicated fans who will pay for additions," he said. The new APB will launch in the first half of 2011 and feature "several core design changes" as well as continuing unfinished content.
Book-Larsson wouldn't be drawn on the specifics of the IP sale, however. "I’m not ready to disclose how much we are paying for the development of the game, but I will say it is significant amounts of money. It’s far more than we paid for the game itself."
"At this point it’s a severely distressed asset, and I think we were very excited to buy it. This game has so many fantastic components – those alone are worth the price."
"I think there was this Frankenstein way of reaching out to the users and customers, with an EA distribution model combined with an online MMO and a free-to-play element as well. It just didn’t work," Book-Larsson told Develop. "If someone ran out of game time and couldn’t pay for more, that in turn put their friends off buying more. It was a domino effect waiting to happen."
Speaking shortly after acquiring the rights to APB for a rumoured £1.5 million (Develop notes that other "more reliable" sources put the number as significantly less), Book-Larsson explained that his company's experience in the free-to-play model will ensure the game's future success.
"We expect around 80-90 per cent of APB’s players won’t ever pay for anything, and 10-20 per cent of the user-base being more dedicated fans who will pay for additions," he said. The new APB will launch in the first half of 2011 and feature "several core design changes" as well as continuing unfinished content.
Book-Larsson wouldn't be drawn on the specifics of the IP sale, however. "I’m not ready to disclose how much we are paying for the development of the game, but I will say it is significant amounts of money. It’s far more than we paid for the game itself."
"At this point it’s a severely distressed asset, and I think we were very excited to buy it. This game has so many fantastic components – those alone are worth the price."
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