Portion Of Realtime Worlds' MyWorld Team Hired Back

Days after financial turmoil at Crackdown and APB developer Realtime Worlds came to a head, administrators for the ailing company said they were able to hire back a group of developers that were working on the 3D virtual world platform MyWorld. Administrators at Begbies Traynor, which is handling reorganization and potential sell-off of the studio and its assets, said that Realtime was able to hire back 23 of the 60 Dundee, Scotland-based team that was working on MyWorld. The 60 staff working on the project were laid off days before Realtime went into administration, as the title couldn't find a publisher. "As a smaller entity MyWorld is attracting considerable interest from potential buyers and 23 members of the team who had been working on the project clearly add value to it as a standalone business, hence the fact we have been able to offer a limited number of those jobs back," said Begbies Traynor joint administrator Ken Pattullo. Begbies Traynor revealed that Realtime Worlds went into administration on Monday. The firm is in the midst of deciding whether Realtime Worlds can continue on as a company in light of financial difficulties, or more likely if the studio can recover more money by selling off assets or liquidating entirely. Realtime entered administration less than two months after the launch of its years-long project, the commercially underwhelming cops and crooks online game APB. The company was founded in 2002 and also released Crackdown on Xbox 360 in 2007. The recently-revealed MyWorld is a departure from Realtime's action-oriented efforts. The game combines social and gaming aspects, and it uses data from geographic information system mapping services to render customizable landscapes. Realtime also said MyWorld integrates social networks such as Facebook. It was slated to launch next year. Begbies Traynor said Realtime laid off 157 employees after it went into administration, plus the MyWorld staff, and was able to retain 53 jobs. The administrator said that Realtime has attracted potential suitors from both sides of the Atlantic. Realtime owes trade creditors in the UK around £3 million ($4.7 million). Pattullo said that his administrative firm wants to put staff in place to support APB. "We want to offer reassurance to gamers that APB will not only continue as an online service but will be improved and supported 100 per cent during this restructuring," he said.