APB: Reloaded is the new free-to-play incarnation of APB, the action-based MMO released by Realtime Worlds shortly before its demise in 2010.
The game was acquired by US-based Gamers First and ongoing development was put into the hands of Reloaded Productions, now located in Edinburgh.
APB: Reloaded was released towards the end of 2011 and has been building a growing audience of players worldwide – and generating revenue from the sale of virtual goods.
Today marks the release of the game’s first major update. Code-named New Breed Part 1, the update adds a huge amount of new content, new challenges as well as tweaks, improvements and fixes across the board.
According to the press release you get:- Weekly Challenges added to the Fight Club zones. Players can now compete for several tiers of prizes using entirely new, heart-pounding game modes.
- New Progression Contacts in the game, handing out new player levels and the very latest experimental gear and gadgets. By finding them, players can earn themselves cool new virtual gear.
- New Mods and Features can be picked up from the new Contacts, bringing new capabilities to players including increased inventory, radar jammers, recoil decrease, opponent tracking and the ultimate high-tech way to lock vehicle speeds at MAX.
- Combat has been enhanced with new marksmanship and mobility modifications and sweet new weapons.
- New Custom Clothing Sets including this spring’s ‘must have’ Paramilitary rig.
- New Vehicle Kits for both Criminals and Enforcers. Players can cruise in style and smash into buildings and opponents while looking even cooler than before.
“New Breed Part 1 is a major step forward for APB Reloaded. The team has been listening to players’ feedback and making sure that every update makes San Paro a more incredible place to play”, said Michael Boniface, General Manager of Reloaded Productions, when we asked him for a quote.
It’s genuinely exciting to see a game that the majority of the industry had dismissed and written off as dead-in-the-water not only making a comeback, but building such an active (and growing) audience. We’ll be talking to Reloaded in the very near future, to find out more about their plans for the game, the evolution from a paid product to free-to-play and the response from the media and games industry to their trend-bucking.
In the meantime, you can download and play APB: Reloaded – free – on your PC. Find the game’s blog, or community, find them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
We’ll leave you with the genuinely awesome live action trailer for the game, which will add a dash of colour and excitement to your Friday morning.
