Reloaded Productions brings free game APB: Reloaded to Xbox One
Free-to-play mmog APB: Reloaded has received an Xbox One release. The game will be in a ‘soft launch’ mode for the next thirty days, which is most like an open beta of sorts. Players who put in enough hours in the game during this phase will be rewarded with various in-game items.
The free-to-play game is an instant download for anyone with an Xbox Live Gold account. The developer is giving away founders packs to anyone who spends at least ten hours on the game before the first patch comes out. However, should the first patch not be released within 30 days, the deadline will be that first month instead. The founders pack includes a special tag, a skin and other ‘freebies’, according to the developer.
The release of the Xbox One version means for the developer that time can now also be invested in the Windows version. The developer was contractually obligated to prioritize this console release before moving forward with the Windows version. In the blog post, Reloaded Productions outlines how things like tile deferred rendering, multithreaded rendering, and more will improve both game performance and graphics quality. These improvements are already in the Xbox One version.
APB, or All Points Bulletin, started out as an ‘mmo version of GTA’. The original idea came from David Jones, a game developer who has also worked on GTA and GTA2 in the past. In addition, the man has been in charge of development for Crackdown and is doing the same for the upcoming Crackdown 3. The game has been in development hell for a long time and the rights to it have changed hands several times. The same goes for the responsibility for the development of the game. After a failed first release, the servers were taken offline, but in 2011 the game was relaunched as a free game for Windows. Ultimately, the game became the property of K2 Network.
A PlayStation 4 version of APB: Reloaded is also in the works. However, the developer states that a release date has not yet been set for that version.
Comparison screenshots of upcoming optimizations and improvements to the Windows version