Realtime Worlds enters administration
APB developer's future in doubt following the online game's commercial problems
Dundee-based APB developer Realtime Worlds has entered administration, GamesIndustry.biz can confirm, following the failure of the online title to draw in strong enough subscriber numbers.
The company is currently being advised by Begbies Traynor Group's Edinburgh office. It is understood that CEO Gary Dale is now at the Dundee head office following a trip to Colorado to speak to staff there.
The game, which was worked on by a very large team for several years, was met with mediocre reviews following a strained launch process that had games press initially embargoed from scoring the title until after it had launched.
But after that confusion was cleared up, gamers failed to take to the PC title, and a first round of lay-offs from the company was announced last week, while the developer's other project - MyWorld - was reportedly rejected by two publishers earlier in the year.
However, despite that action, sources hinted at further trouble, claiming that Dale had flown to Colorado to 'strip the staff' from that office.
A full statement from Begbie Traynor is expected later today.
And if you don't, hopefully those affected will find other roles soon as.
All the best.
Good luck to all of you.
Perhaps a right partner can be found.
It may not have been the success you all hoped but it was a damn good idea with so much potential.
Without appearing predatory, if anyone has been affected, please feel free to drop me a message. I have a strong portfolio of positions globally for experienced games industry professionals, so would be only too happy to discuss options with those unfortunate enough to have found themselves out of a job.
Unfortunately for them, the MyWorld project don't seems really interesting neither, maybe the designers should work a bit harder?
There is some great tech behind APB so I hope they find a buyer for the whole product or be able to sell off pieces of the tech.
I was lucky enough to be given a student placement at RTW during the summer of 2006 and worked on APB as some kind of assistant producer. I was fired after 2 months for critizing management on an agile development forum. From the start I was really shocked by the then project manager's attitude, he was clearly the wrong person to be leading such a large and ambitious project. RTW eventually parted company with this PM, but the damage had been done.
From my point of view, which is based on my own experience and that of several friends who have worked their, the project lacked design direction and focus. APB is about player to player interactions, but even in 2006, all key people would talk about was customisation. This attitude can even be seen with their 'human avatar' PR stunt. The focus must always be on the core interaction, which in this case is shooting other players. I don't know what caused the lack of focus; maybe too many chiefs and not enough indians, too many inexperienced people in high positions or a lack of willingless to hear critisism due to the companies famous history. The answer is in there somewhere.
Also, I often hear people saying that the base concept of cops and robbers is awesome. Maybe it is, but much more is needed (not just customisation, real gameplay!). For me, it was just too simple a concept, which when considering the problem of lack of focus is a little bit ironic.
Lastly, all is not lost of RTW, they will have to prove that the continuation of APB is in the best interests of their creditors, which might be possible, depending on the games running costs and revenue. I just hope their is some soul searching by those in high positions, else history will be repeated.
This is a very sad day for Realtime Worlds and for the Scottish and UK video games industry. Realtime Worlds has an exceptionally talented team, management and board of directors. TIGA has been proud to both represent and to work with Realtime Worlds over the last two years. On behalf of everyone at TIGA, best of luck to everyone at Realtime Worlds.
Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA
All the best to those who are affected.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Khaled Al-Hurby on 17th August 2010 6:01pm
Best of luck guys and hope you all find your feet soon
A large number of people have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and it's a great shame that it ended this way.
I sincerely wish anyone affected by this the best of luck in finding a new job.
I suspect it won't be in Dundee, as 2/3 of games jobs have just been lost there :(
I sincerely hope that a buyer is found - and that these jobs can be saved.
For those who wish to stay in Scotland, Firebrand is debt free and profitable, as well as stable and with a great order book. *snip*
Good luck.
Mark
EDIT: This isn't the place for specific job ads - for that please use this page: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/jobs/
Edited 2 times. Last edit by a moderator on 18th August 2010 10:03am
I hope everyone at RTW finds new employment quickly, there are plenty of opportunities out there for talented people and i'm sure you will all be in demand.
EDIT: I don't mind general notifications of companies hiring, but we do have a jobs page for anything more specific than that. Linking to any roles posted there is acceptable.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by a moderator on 18th August 2010 9:56am
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it -- I hate how one under-performing game can put a relatively big developer out of business these days.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Terence Gage on 18th August 2010 9:50am
In contrast, the risks were large, the staff were large, ad the potential for profit was large.
Still, lets see what silver lining there is .