Jones talks up APB's "three-year plan"

By Tom Bramwell Published 12 March, 2010

Flatly denies GTA Online rumour.

Realtime Worlds has told Eurogamer that its long-term roadmap for APB will see the game change considerably over its lifespan.

"We have a three-year plan for it," David Jones said in an interview published today. "For me it's like GTA to GTA III. It takes time, you can't do it all on day one.

"We have a plan, we'll actually build that into the storyline as well. There are some very unique long-term metagames coming that are much more in line with the style of game we are."

Jones won't be drawn on the game's "unique" business model, although he did say that he expected gamers to accept it despite the strong "emotional" reaction people have to game pricing.

And he also said that changes to the game would owe a lot to community involvement.

"Within a month this game could be very, very different because we tried out this rule-set in a district and people loved it to death - and as you know a small tweak to the rules can make a very different game - and that's what people gravitate towards. If that's what's popular, we'll just keep on firing up more of those kinds of servers," he explained.

"We have a three-year plan. We'll be doing the regular patches, some new content, some new weapons, vehicles... All I can say, I think the main thing is: here's a new city with new kinds of rules.

"It'll be slightly different to what's out there. But we will have big expansions as well. When we talk about the metagame, it will be about these big things that happen to the city or these big new characters, new plotlines."

Jones also dismissed rumours that APB was once being hawked to Rockstar as a possible "GTA Online" game.

"I have no idea where that came from," he told us. "I think that some people at some point thought hey, it's kind of like GTA, but actually it's not. Until you play the game, it's very hard to imagine what it will actually be like."

We'll be doing just that very soon. Check out the full Dave Jones interview for more on the current state of APB, the likelihood of it appearing on console, Jones' enthusiasm for the business model and when it's likely to come out.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (9) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • MaxiSleep #1 2 years ago

    The "emotional" reaction to pricing is because people have been stiffed in the past by things like CoH, Hellgate, etc etc.

    The style of game does not sound to me like it will support the pricing model just like hellgate. Time will tell.

  • BiffTanner #2 2 years ago

    I must have missed something, whats going on with the pricing now then? last I heard there way going to be no monthly sub.
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/10 @ 13:00

  • booner #3 2 years ago

    I for one, am really looking forward to this game.

  • Markusdragon #4 2 years ago

    Re: The pricing? My guess is lots and lots of paid DLC.

  • Bravestinsane #5 2 years ago

    Pricing hasn't been announced although if you watch the podcasts on Youtube, they have stated numerous times it won't be the "Traditional" method, and in my view that means a pay monthly sub.

  • Murton #6 2 years ago

    They've hinted against monthly sub quite a few times and really talked up their customisation options. At the moment I'm thinking of something like a cross between Guild Wars and Home/Avatar. A sub-free retail MMO supported by regular expansion packs and then further supported microtransactions for additional character items/customisations.

  • comissars_handgun #7 2 years ago

    Yes, this openworld crime game made by a bunch of former GTA creators is nothing like GTA....

    This does look great though, I'm sad that it isn't coming out for 360 any more.

  • DAN.E.B #8 2 years ago

    what? its not out on 360 any more? why?

  • Murton #9 2 years ago

    i don't believe this was ever officially slated for a 360 release. I remember the dev saying that they would like to have it on 360 and even said that they had a barebones 360 SKU in the studio but terms were never agreed with MS to make it happen.

    Champions Online for 360 was halted by the exact same hurdle. MS didn't agree with their business plan so the game didn't happen. Not sure what the reason is for APB though.
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/10 @ 22:09