David Jones joins APB: Reloaded team

Realtime Worlds founder David Jones has signed on as an advisor for APB Reloaded - the F2P relaunch of the MMO shooter that brought down his studio.

New developer GamersFirst announced the appointment today, explaining that Jones would be consulting during "critical design stages" of the free-to-play relaunch.

"The opportunity to have David reconnect with us during the production of the new APB Reloaded game has been great and it lets us take advantage of both a deeper understanding of the original vision of APB, as well as leveraging the strengths of the Free2Play model used in the new APB Reloaded game," said GamersFirst chief Bjorn Book-Larsson.

Jones, who co-created the Lemmings, Grand Theft Auto and Crackdown franchises, has kept a low profile since Realtime Worlds folded last year. He insisted that he was happy to be back on APB and looked forward to seeing through his original vision for the game.

"After seeing what the team has done with the game thus far, I'm certain that APB Reloaded will become the title that truly breaks new ground for online game experiences, especially with transition to a free to play model," he explained.

"Allowing players to try out key aspects of the game before committing to making purchases fits this game tremendously well."

After a few months in closed beta, an open beta for APB: Reloaded is due to launch on 18th May.