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