As expected, APB, the game that killed Realtime Worlds, is getting killed off itself. The day after a patch was announced, it's been it's getting shutdown. It's been confirmed the shutdown is [url=http://twitter.com/benbateman/status/24682317242]tonight. Untill then, the game is free to play.
It's sad, but not unexpected. Must be a record for a high profile MMO-branded game too.

Wow. Even MxO managed to last longer =S

How long was this game even out?

Well, I'm not the least bit surprised. I was in the beta, and the game sucked. Combine that with their bloodsucking moneymaking scheme (buy the game for full price AND pay a hefty subscription fee), and you've got yourself a recipe for failure.

Must be some kind of record. And especially crazy when you consider the time it took to make. I mean, I remember this being advertised at E3 in 2005 (the only E3 I've been to). I don't think they had any real footage of it back then, but there were some hot chicks in APB-branded police uniforms wandering about the Webzen area.
Edit: Another thing: I bet the retail market is still flooded with APB-copies sold at full price. I seriously doubt they'll be recalled. I guess you're kind of asking for it if you buy a MMO at retail, but still...

They expected too much out of it and apparently the core game mechanics sucked. So it's not really that surprising.

And I thought that HellGate;London died a fairly quick death...

While I wasn't interested by APB I am still surprised it died so quickly...
Well at least Hellgate could (and still can) be played offline. (Heck I am one of those who bought it for the solo part...)

Almost everyone saw APB heading for disaster. High retail price, relatively high subscription price and a flawed game.

Yep, there were so many ways for that game to improve itself and its price dramatically, but none were ever done. It's very sad in a way, and frankly this sort of quick death for a $50 retail game and the fact it can never be played again redouble my fears and lack of interest in MMOs in general.
P.S. this interview is now hilarious (if it wasn't already): http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/realtime-worlds-dave-jones-interview?page=1

One thing that really helped seal APB's fate is that not only is it a generally unexceptional MMOG but it was also stubbornly sticking to the pay-to-play heritage of the genre at the very time that comparable full-fat MMOGs are going the other direction by offering just as much content without any fees (see Dungeons & Dragons Online, Global Agenda, The Lord of the Rings Online, etc.)

I have never heard of this game and not even sure what the APB stands for really.
I still tinker with Ryzom which is a very old MMO, but the few I have tried all seem too repetitive.
I will wait for Age of Wonder games to be released on GOG and buy those! :o)

All Points Bulletin. It was supposed to be MMO GTA. It failed miserably.
Quite why Epic want to buy that trainwreck is a mystery. Probably repackage it as an Xbox Live exclusive.