Realtime Worlds Buys Back APB Rights

Officials from Scottish developer Realtime Worlds have announced that the company has regained the global distribution rights to forthcoming massively multiplayer online game APB (All Points Bulletin), which it continues to develop at its Dundee studio. The move follows a widely reported $50 million second round funding deal, although no indication has been given of how much it has cost the developer to buy back the distribution rights from Korean publisher Webzen. Best known for Xbox 360 title Crackdown, Realtime Worlds was founded by original Grand Theft Auto creator David Jones in 2002, alongside fellow British industry veterans Ian Hetherington and Tony Harman. Although the company’s main development studio is in Scotland, its corporate headquarters is situated in Boulder, Colorado. “Owning the distribution rights to APB marks a major milestone in Realtime Worlds’ evolution into a premier online entertainment company,” said Jones. “By controlling the rights to APB we can ensure that gamers around the globe experience the revolutionary gameplay we envisioned when we first began creating the property. We are excited about the prospect of having direct, personal relationships with our players, which is a dream come true for many development studios.”