APB Reboot Brings Back David Jones As Consultant

APB Reloaded -- the rebooted microtransaction-based version of last year's failed MMO cops and robbers action game APB -- will be developed with input from series creator David Jones, publisher GamersFirst has revealed. According to the company, Jones will "serve in an advisory role" on the title, which he says should "break new grounds" in its new free-to-play incarnation. "Allowing players to try out key aspects of the game before committing to making purchases fits this game tremendously well," said Jones, adding that the original APB "was my passion back when I was developing it with Realtime Worlds, and I'm extremely excited to be able to participate in fulfilling the long term vision for the title." APB Reloaded will enter open beta May 18. According to GamersFirst COO and CTO Bjorn Book-Larsson, Jones will help the company evaluate new game designs between the start of the open beta and the formal product launch later this year. "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 version of APB, as well as leveraging the strengths of the free-to-play model," said Book-Larsson. Besides APB, Jones is also the noted creative visionary behind Crackdown, Lemmings and the original Grand Theft Auto. Jones founded APB developer Realtime Worlds in 2001, which went into administration last year "in the face of lackluster demand" for the original, subscription-based release of APB. GamersFirst acquired the rights to the game later in the year, and has been developing the new microtransaction-based version since.