APB: Reloaded. The worst GTA ripoffs

Long before the dominance of GTA Online, one development team also saw the potential of multiplayer open-world gameplay. In APB, we entered a virtual world and take a side in an urban conflict between gangs and the law, fighting for influence in a given territory, or to maintain order. The basic premise of the game was interesting enough to attract many players looking for shootings, car chases, and arrests. Unfortunately, shortly after the release, the developer went bankrupt and shut the servers down.

The rights to the brand were bought by K2 Network and they decided to re-launch it, with the title changed to APB: Reloaded, and the distribution model switched to free-to-play. However, it quickly turned out that the changes introduced by the new owners were not conducive to the development of a game that otherwise could have been quite successful. Free access unfortunately involved a variety of microtransactions. Along with cosmetic items, there were also premium system, for example allowing more weapons to be acquired faster. This effectively turned the game into a pay-to-win. In addition, cheaters infested the game, so the fun got frustrating at certain moments. The developers did nothing solid to make their work more compelling over time. It even seems that, with the debut of GTA Online, they gave up the hopes of any success, and finally sold the game in 2018 to Little Orbit. At present, there's still some interest in this game on Steam, with up to a few hundred players per day on servers.