Only one week out from the game's official release, APB development house Realtime Worlds confirmed today (via Develop) that "a small number of staff will be made redundant, and a second unnamed project will be downscaled." Oddly enough, the studio also announced that it's still hiring. Rather than commenting on specifics of the layoffs, Realtime CEO Gary Dale noted: "We now have to focus our efforts and resources on running APB as a 24 / 7 online live operations, creating new content and services for the future and ensuring the best possible experience for players."

Dale also assured that the restructuring doesn't have to do with the reception of the new MMO at retail, saying, "APB experienced a very smooth launch for an online dedicated game along with a great reception from consumers and we're immensely proud of the game the team has produced." We've followed up with RTW for more specifics, and we'd like to offer our consolences to anyone at the studio that lost their job.