APB: "It's too early to think seriously about not having a boxed product"

Speaking to VG247 at Develop in Brighton today, Realtime Worlds studio manager Colin Macdonald said that nothing had been decided in terms of the publication of massively anticipated MMO APB, but that the idea of relying purely on digital distribution for the game was unlikely to come to fruition.

"I think it's too early to think seriously about not having a boxed product," he said.

"The investment back in April opens a lot of doors for us. We are a company that's looking to be much more in control of its own destiny, so we're not about to jump into a traditional deal with anyone, but obviously we're open to partnerships."

Macdonald went on to say that the distribution model CCP's chosen for EVE Online - whereby no external publisher is involved - is "risky".

"At the moment everything's open to us, but I think right now, much as some companies have done well keeping complete control, I think that that's maybe at the risky end of things, in the western market at least," he said.

"Most of the companies we speak to say that you still need a boxed product to drive the initial sale, to drive major expansions.

More soon.