NEWS - Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Realtime Worlds May Be Liquidated
Realtime Worlds is on the brink of closure following the difficult launch of All Points Bulletin. Develop is reporting that the studio has entered administration, and will be shut down if it can’t find an investor.
The studio is reportedly down to a skeleton crew charged with maintaining APB. This follows reports that the Project: MyWorld team was laid off a few short weeks after the project’s announcement, and that Realtime Worlds has axed its U.S. studio.
Realtime Worlds opened in 2002, with its first major release being Crackdown. It was founded by David Jones, who is best known for creating Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings.
APB was the studio’s ambitious attempt to marry the sandbox genre with a massively multiplayer payment structure. The project took five years to develop, only to be met with mixed reviews and poor sales.
Realtime Worlds now faces a deadline to fine an investor. If no one steps forward, the studio will be liquidated. APB continues to operate, but the game’s potential fate is unclear.
Source: http://www.1up.com
