Realtime Worlds hemorrhages staff

As promised earlier in the week, APB will carry on despite the collapse of developer Realtime Worlds. Paul Dounis, joint administrator for Begbies Traynor, said servers for the online shooter are still running and the game can still be played. Realtime Worlds also confirmed that updates and improvements for APB will still be added over time.

Scottish developer Realtime Worlds, which released the cops-and-robbers online shooter at the end of June, went into administration on Tuesday. Dounis, of business rescue and restructuring firm Begbies Traynor, said the studio's debts in the UK were around £3 million ($5 million). Of the 210 staff at the Dundee studio, 157 have been laid off. Twenty-eight of the 42 employees at the developer's US offices in Colorado, where online operations are managed, also lost their jobs.

Today, Realtime Worlds laid out plans to restructure its business and keep APB playable, saying game updates and tweaks are on the way despite the layoffs. The latest patch will include matchmaking changes, weapon rebalancing, new vehicle handling, and voice chat improvements, the developer said. "APB will not only continue as an online service but will be improved and supported 100 percent during this restructure," said Dounis. The administrator also said some potential buyers in the UK and US have expressed interest in acquiring the studio.

APB received mediocre reviews, but shortly after its release the developer promised to roll out significant changes and improvements over time, particularly to the much-criticised vehicle handling. Community officer Neil Castle said that many beta testers' suggestions had "fallen through the cracks" in the run up to launch. Realtime Worlds "wanted to get a chance to contrast the feedback from new live players with the feedback from the beta community to help us draw up our hit list for the first few months," said Castle.

British developers The Creative Assembly and Blitz Games Studios, respectively makers of the Total War series and Dead to Rights: Retribution, have pledged support for those affected by Realtime Worlds' layoffs. The Creative Assembly is planning a recruitment day in Dundee this Friday, seeking staff for "an unannounced AAA [console] title" as well as the Total War team. Blitz executives are also travelling to Dundee to "talk to Realtime Worlds staff about…the employment opportunities available."

[UPDATE]:Realtime Worlds has rehired 23 members of the team working on the studio’s MyWorld 3D project. The 23 were laid off from the 60-person team earlier in the month, before the developer went into administration. Administrator Begbies Traynor said that "MyWorld is attracting considerable interest from potential buyers…hence the fact we have been able to offer a limited number of those jobs back."