Realtime Worlds reorgs around APB

Realtime Worlds brought its large-scale online shooter APB to market last week, nearly five and a half years after its storied development timeline entered the public eye. And while neither Realtime Worlds nor the game's publisher, Electronic Arts, has yet to indicate how many online gamers have answered APB's call, the Scottish developer is following the launch with a round of restructuring.

Today, Realtime Worlds announced that it would be realigning its some 300 employees into roles that provide ongoing support for APB. As part of this restructuring, Realtime Worlds noted that more staff would be positioned behind the game, but that an unspecified, "small number" of positions would be eliminated. The studio also said that it would continue to hire for positions related to post-launch roles on APB.

Realtime World's layoffs are largely related to a downscaling of an as-yet-unannounced second development project. In June 2009, Grand Theft Auto creator and Realtime Worlds' cofounder Dave Jones said that his studio planned to announce a new massively multiplayer online game in 2010. According to Jones, the game was the first in production at his nascent studio, but due to the "ambitious" scope of the project, Realtime Worlds opted to launch APB first.

For more on APB, check out GameSpot's Review in Progress blog for the game.