According to GameSpot, IGS CEO and founder Paul G. Lombardi posted on his Facebook page that a retail version of APB: Reloaded will be released during this year's holiday season for $29.99 and include $45 worth of "value." Lombardi has since deleted his comment. In response, GamersFirst sent us the following statement from Rahul Sandil, senior vice president of marketing, PR & business development:

"Given that APB: Reloaded has been the most talked about online game this summer and its unprecedented growth in open beta players, it has become very attractive to large institutions in the game distribution business. In just 6 weeks of open beta the game has attracted over 600,000 users and over a quarter million fans on the game’s fan page on Facebook. As a result of this success, we’ve been approached by retail partners to launch the title on retail shelves. Although we are evaluating our options, we have not picked a potential partner as of now. GamersFirst is also committed to the Free2Play model and any retail strategy will be guided by those principles."

So basically, a retail version of APB: Reloaded is possible, but nothing's set in stone yet. Would you purchase a retail version of a free-to-play game if it comes with extra content or items?

Following three weeks of silence, GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson has written a new APB: Reloaded dev blog entry that focuses on version 1.5.2. Here's what you can expect to see in the upcoming patch:

"1.5.2 introduces many new items outlined in the roadmap, most importantly district recommendation and skill-rating based matchmaking and it ALSO introduces a lot of items we had not yet talked about; meta-grouping for better PuG-ing, action grouping relaxation (fancy way of saying you will be able to shoot right as you stop sprinting instead of being blocked from shooting), 70+ different mission fixes, new clothing, new items and a boat-load of various bug fixes and improvements based on much of the forum and tester feedback we have had. So there is much more to talk about once that version is ready to go live."

GamersFirst has selected about 500 volunteers to join the Test Monkey Crew, although the company isn't sure if the Public Test World will launch before or after version 1.5.2. Book-Larsson ends the blog by covering the known issues of latency spikes and 32-bit optimization, as well as mentioning that GamersFirst is looking for a C++ coder to join the development team in Edinburgh, UK.

If you want to help test APB: Reloaded as part of a dedicated group, then you should apply to join the newly launched San Paro City Inspectors team! Chosen players will be asked to test new game content during assigned testing periods and submit bugs and feedback.

Of course, membership in the testing club comes with some perks. You'll get a sneak peek at content before anyone else, pre-release access to some fun Armas Items, access to a special forum group, and potential in-game recognition.

GamersFirst will be taking applications until Tuesday, June 21 and plans to announce the members of the San Paro City Inspectors team the week of July 10. Check out the announcement for details on the application process.

In an attempt to remain transparent with players, GamersFirst has published its Development Road Map for APB: Reloaded. Currently, the road map contains the team's short-term goals for this month, such as the planned release of the Closed Beta Appreciation Kit to players next week. The map will be updated with their long-term goals later this week.

So why publish a Development Road Map? GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson said in a blog entry that they're doing this to avoid answering the same questions over and over again on forums and blogs.

"While the current list is just a taste of what we are hoping to share, at minimum our aspiration is to NOT promise things "soon" Wow-style, nor on "Valve-time," but instead the plan is simply to share things that we feel comfortable promising within some reasonable time frame," he said.

APB: Reloaded entered open beta a couple weeks ago, and it's important to remember that this is still classified as a testing phase for the game. Bugs and errors are to be expected leading up to the game's official release, and GamersFirst plans to launch a public test world and the Test Monkey Crew in order to squash these bugs in a timely fashion.

The Test Monkey Crew will be comprised of players who help GamersFirst make sure APB: Reloaded is as polished as possible. Here are the details on the group:

"We will start taking applications for how to participate in the TMC after the E3 show is over on Monday the 13th of June, and Neume will send out more details on how it will work (and how you apply). Some of you will literally be asked to participate (since we can 'see' what you have been doing in the game), and for some slots we will simply take applications."

APB: Reloaded has been in open beta for a week, and GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson has written a lengthy and detailed dev blog entry outlining some interesting statistics about the game. The biggest news is that APB hit a global peak concurrent record of under 24,000 players yesterday, with well over half of those players logging into the game from Europe. Nearly 1,000 new accounts per hour have been created over the past few days.

Book-Larsson also said that the game's Facebook page is getting an average of 6,000 new likes per day. If you're not a fan yet, you should check it out since GamersFirst is using it to post all key game status alerts.

APB: Reloaded's open beta kicked off on Monday, and the first batch of premium players will soon get reminder emails that their first 30 days are almost up. During the beta period, the cost of premium is $9.99 per month, which gives you all sorts of perks, including a 20% item purchase discount. It turns out you can use that discount to renew your premium for only $7.99 per month! Here are the details from the APB: Reloaded blog:

"Thanks to this discount when Premium Players re-up (adds 30 additional premium days) before the end of his/her premium period, those premium extensions get an automatic 20% off (!) off the Beta $9.99 price.

The result is that premium renewals are only $7.99 in the US, £4.99 in the UK and €5.99 in Europe. And - any benefits that you accrue, including standing, achievements, customizations, permanent items or permanent weapons you buy during Open Beta carry over to the live production launch of the game as well."

The day has finally arrived! APB: Reloaded is officially in open beta, so all you need to do is create a GamersFirst account if you don't have one yet and then download the client. Forget about keys or waves of invites; there's nothing stopping you from trying out this revamped free-to-play version of All Points Bulletin.

Keep in mind that open beta means GamersFirst will still be working on fixing some bugs before the official launch. The team has said that the formal release "is likely to take place sometime in the next few months."

The APB: Reloaded open beta was originally scheduled to launch on May 18, but was put on temporary hold due to a player disconnection issue. GamersFirst just announced the new open beta launch date, and it's May 23 at 6 a.m. PDT.

Once open beta begins next week, all players will be able to explore the streets of San Paro. APB: Reloaded's formal launch "is likely to take place sometime in the next few months."

APB: Reloaded's open beta was originally scheduled to launch today, but GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson just announced that the open beta has been put on "temporary hold" due to a player disconnection issue.

GamersFirst is rolling out another closed beta patch in an attempt to track down the cause of the issue. Once the problem is resolved, the game will be released to the public. The blog post doesn't mention an estimated launch date for open beta, but Book-Larsson promises to share status updates as soon as they're available.

Also, the team is preparing a "goodie-pack" of game items for closed beta players. The pack will be given out the week after open beta is released to the general public.