APB has 130K registered players, high average playtime and revenue per user
Realtime Worlds as a company has been suffering from all kinds of problems lately, but how's the game doing? With a very short press release, the company (currently "in administration," which is the British version of bankruptcy) has announced that APB is hosting 130,000 registered players. That's actually not too bad for a brand new MMO -- while real population numbers are often hard to come by, the most recent estimates would have the game beating Star Trek Online's current active base. And STO has actually done pretty well, considering how tough it is to start up a new MMO.
Realtime Worlds still isn't home and dry, though. At 130K players, APB is just barely doing better than Tabula Rasa at its peak, and we all know how well that turned out. And APB's model means player registrations isn't necessarily a sign of good health. While the press release claims that the average player is playing four hours a day and the average paying player is spending $28 a month, APB's unlimited free social hours and the ability to "spend" in-game points rather than real money could be twisting those figures upwards a bit. Our colleagues at Massively also point out that while Star Trek Online was created relatively cheaply, APB's creation was reportedly much messier and more costly.
Still, with a dark cloud over the rest of Realtime Worlds' affairs, they might as well grab a silver lining where they can. If the company survives this launch, APB could have enough of a player base to make itself profitable.
Show full PR text
Realtime Worlds disclose APB player statistics
DUNDEE, Scotland - Tuesday, 24th August 2010 - Realtime Worlds in administration has released playing figures today for the first time while negotiations continue to secure a sale for the British publisher of APB: All Points Bulletin.
The figures reveal 130,000 registered players, with the average player playing for 4 hours each day, APB's unique business model sees paying players averaging $28 per month, a combination of game time and user to user marketplace trading.
Joint administrator Paul Dounis, of business rescue and restructuring specialist Begbies Traynor commented "These are healthy numbers and reflect positively on APB as a ongoing concern. They prove this is a very enjoyable game, which is shown by the average player daily playtime and an ARPPU (Average Revenue per Paying User) that is highest of any game out there"
