GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson recently published his third blog entry regarding APB: Reloaded, and this one focuses on the first closed beta build and the initial download size of the free-to-play All Points Bulletin.

Book-Larsson says that they are likely to launch the closed beta without the original character data, which will then hopefully be restored during the open beta. He also mentions that the current game is just above 7 GB in size, which is too large. They'll attempt to shrink the size of the client, but the closed beta version will still be around 7 GB.

Due to what he felt was a misleading PC Gamer headline, Book-Larsson went on to clarify that customization options will be available to everyone for free. However, players who wish to share complex customizations will need to have a premium account. He ends the blog entry by asking players not to engage in private APB server endeavors, and he will be reaching out to players who do as a goodwill measure. Some of them may even receive job offers to work on APB!

In his first APB: Reloaded blog entry, GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson focused on game balance. In his second blog entry, Book-Larsson discusses how the team will split "Basic" and "Premium" accounts in the free-to-play rebirth of All Points Bulletin. He provides some details on how the customization system will work once the game is F2P:

"Instead of limiting what you can customize as a free player, you will be allowed to customize almost anything, but you will not be able to store (and share) complex customizations above a certain complexity level unless you are a Premium player AT THE TIME OF CUSTOMIZATION. This has several benefits, first it would limit the amount of content pushed to everyone else in the game from free players (which would reduce the amount of loading required), but it would also let you be Premium for just one month, create a lot of customizations that month, and then use those items later on (even if your Premium membership has lapsed).

Book-Larsson also says that Premium players may get discounts when purchasing complex items from the marketplace. What are your thoughts on the proposed customization system? Would you buy a temporary Premium membership to highly customize your character?

It has been a busy week for GamersFirst. Last week, the publisher announced that it had acquired the rights to All Points Bulletin and will be relaunching the urban MMO as a free-to-play title next year. The reveal put a spotlight on the company, and GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn Book-Larsson has posted a lengthy blog entry discussing the sudden influx of attention.

The bulk of the blog entry focuses on game balance. Book-Larsson explains how APB: Reloaded will use the same general idea as WarRock when it comes to F2P vs. paid players:

"For APB we are looking for a similar system where Free players will have fun but will have to grind a lot to be competitive, and paid players will have a slightly different progression path altogether."

Book-Larsson confirms that several former Realtime Worlds team members will be working as independent contractors on APB: Reloaded during the free-to-play transition. He also invites passionate former APB players to request that they be included in the upcoming closed beta. Check out the full blog entry for more details.

It's official: All Points Bulletin will be reborn as a free-to-play game. GamersFirst, a publisher of F2P MMOs, announced today that it has acquired the rights to the game and will be relaunching it as APB: Reloaded in the first half of 2011. GameIndustry.biz broke the news last week, but this is the first time GamersFirst officially announced the deal.

The demise of All Points Bulletin shocked the gaming community in September when Realtime Worlds shut down the game a mere three months after its launch. While the studio was forced to close, the good news is that the sale of the intellectual property rights will allow all outstanding wages and holiday pay claims to be met in full.

GamersFirst has also launched a blog to keep players up-to-date on APB: Reloaded news and explain how the game will change from a subscription-based model to a free-to-play system.

It look like the rumors were true! GameIndustry.biz is reporting that K2 Network has purchased the All Points Bulletin intellectual property for approximately £1.5 million. An official announcement is expected in the coming week, but sources have told the site that the game may be running again by the end of the year. Also, it will likely adopt the free-to-play model.

The demise of All Points Bulletin shocked the gaming community in September when Realtime Worlds shut down the game a mere three months after its launch. GameBreaker TV's Gary Gannon and ZAM's Mike B. aka Fony had the opportunity to speak with Josh Howard, APB's former exeuctive producer, about the game's premature end, so be sure to check out that interview to help bridge the gap between APB's death and rebirth.

So what are your thoughts on the announcement? Will you be playing APB once it relaunches?

There's a rumor making its way around the internet that All Points Bulletin may have a buyer. While APB met its demise last month, Massively noticed that the patcher is still delivering news. On Friday, the patcher was updated with the following message:

"It's looking like there might be light at the end of the tunnel for APB. The end of the administration process is apparently close and there appears to be a buyer for the game."

Former APB Community Manager Ben Bateman retweeted a link to the patch notes, which gives them a bit more authenticity. It's also worth noting that Bateman's Twitter and LinkedIn pages both say he is now a community manager at Codemasters. Massively is wondering whether Codemasters bought APB, but only time will tell what the future holds for the game.

GameBreaker TV's Gary Gannon and ZAM's Mike B. aka Fony recently got the chance to speak with Josh Howard, APB's former exeuctive producer, about the game's premature end. Check out the interview to see what went wrong with the game, and then come back here and let us know what you think about the new APB rumor.

The sudden demise of All Points Bulletin last month left many players wondering how the game could possibly shut down a mere three months after its launch. GameBreaker TV's Gary Gannon and ZAM's Mike B. aka Fony were able to get some answers from former Executive Producer Josh Howard at GDC Online, and the exclusive interview is a revealing look at what went wrong with APB. According to Howard, one main factor was money:

"I think what killed us was despite all the money we raised, we were not capitalized for this. We were making a big bet - don't sit down at the $10,000 hand table in poker unless you've got a much, much bigger amount of money sitting in your pocket. We used the funds we had to get to the point of launch and didn't have a lot of staying power after that point."

Howard said that APB's biggest weakness was that "it tried to do too many things." He mentions that the team was actively engaged in turning the product around, and the game's ending "seemed like a surprise to all of us."

Howard also explained that the MMO label may have been confusing for players. He said that APB "was impossible to summarize. It's a real challenge to market and sell a product when you can't tell a customer what it is." For many more details, watch the entire interview after the jump.

All Points Bulletin unexpectedly shut down earlier this month, leaving many gamers with a game they could no longer play. If you happened to purchase APB digitally through sites like Steam or Direct2Drive, it looks Electronic Arts is willing to give you a free game that's currently in the EA Store as a refund.

According to SavyGamer, all you need to do is go to the EA support site and tell them you'd like another game to replace APB. Titles like Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins are up for grabs, so be sure to take advantage of this opportunity if you purchased a digital copy of APB. Let us know how you fared in the comments section below.

UPDATE 3: Ben Bateman just tweeted the following today, Sept. 17, at around 9 a.m. EDT: "The RTW offices may be empty, but somehow the APB servers are still online. Time for an after party! Jump in!"

UPDATE 2: Ben Bateman has posted on his Twitter feed that the game is free-to-play until the servers shut down tonight. "People who are still here are working for free," he said. "We only found out this morning."

UPDATE: Former Realtime Worlds game developer Luke Halliwell has posted a lengthy 3-part series on "Where Realtime Worlds went wrong" on his blog. You can start with part 1 and go from there. It's an interesting read.

In a shocking turn of a events, the fledgling urban MMORPG, All Points Bulletin, has come to a close a mere three months after its initial launch. This is probably one of the fastest triple A MMORPG closures in the history of the industry, and for many fans of the game, it just seems like it's too soon for a game with as much potential as APB had. Sadly, we won't be able to see what may have come from this game, as Ben 'APBMonkey' Bateman, the Community Officer for APB, just announced on their website that while "APB has been a fantastic journey . . . that journey has come to a premature end."

Realtime Worlds just announced that All Points Bulletin update 1.4.2 will go live tomorrow, Sept. 16. According to the post, "1.4.2 brings you the highly anticipated PureSkill ruleset where upgrades are nullified and you can fight on an even playing field! The update also includes the latest weapon balancing changes based on your 1.4.1 feedback!"

The servers will be down from 5-9 a.m. EDT tomorrow, but you can kill some time by checking out the 1.4.2 patch notes after the jump or reading through our previous All Points Bulletin news posts. Have you checked out this Grand Theft Auto-styled MMO yet?