100,000+ sign up for APB beta

By Fred Dutton Published 15 February, 2011

Numbers "far exceed" expectations.

"Well over" 100,000 applicants have registered for the upcoming closed beta of studio-killing MMO shooter APB: Reloaded, its new custodian has revealed.

In a post on the game's website, Reloaded Productions chief Bjorn Book-Larsson claimed, "we will far exceed the number of people we actually expected or even needed for the first closed beta. But that's clearly great news."

You've still got time to get involved if you're curious - Reloaded will stop taking new applications at 8.00am GMT on 16th February.

Book-Larsson predicted that about half of those who initially signed up would complete the second step in the process and be granted access to the beta, which is expected to begin in the first week of March.

First released by Dundee-based Realtime Worlds back in June to mediocre reviews, the ambitious MMO failed to attract a profitable subscriber base leading to the closure of the studio in August.

The game was then sold to California-based publisher K2 Networks, who entrusted subsidiary Reloaded Productions with getting the title back on its feet.

Few major gameplay changes are expected when the finished game launches later this year, other than a switch to a free-to-play finance model.

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About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (9) Latest comment 1 year ago

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  • CaptainQuint #1 1 year ago

    Well, you can write a substantial portion of signups off as impulsive bandwagon jumpers who won't follow through with any real interest.

  • DrMGinius #2 1 year ago

    @CaptainQuint Which is exactly what happened with APB.

  • Trikk #3 1 year ago

    Considering how much it costs to sign up for the APB beta, I'd say we can put a lot of weight on these numbers.

  • Bander #4 1 year ago

    A lot of the beta testers found out that they couldn't run the game the first time around because of the unbelievably high RAM requirements.

    Come to think of it, did anyone even look at that as a possible reason why so few people played it?

  • Stratix #5 1 year ago

    The system requirements were pretty meaty, and if you weren't running 64 bit mode the game didn't look that great either. This may have been a concern, but there were so many balance issues with the game, most of the player base got frustrated and left the game anyway.

    Gamersfirst appear to be fixing a lot of the balance issues remaining, (many were dealt with by RTW, but it was too late by then however), so system requirements may be the next biggest hurdle. Too many players were lost by the keys to the city open beta event. I guess many players who couldn't run it then just left without a word also.

    I personally, loved the game, despite it's problems, and am really looking forward to playing it again.

  • comben #6 1 year ago

    i loved it tbh. cant wait. lots of changes being made as we speak. gutted about rtw tbh.

  • speedjack #7 1 year ago

    When I read that headline my first thought was 'must be a glitch in the Matrix'.

  • actionfitz #8 1 year ago

    "Few major gameplay changes are expected when the finished game launches later this year, other than a switch to a free-to-play finance model."

    not interested then.

  • FortysixterUK #9 1 year ago

    This could be good news, here's hoping it works out..