On March 20, GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson stated that APB: Reloaded's European closed beta couldn't launch until the team received some critical network components. He just made a quick blog post today to announce that the equipment is still stuck in customs, and they're hoping to get everything straightened out in the next few days. Book-Larsson plans to post an update on Monday.

In the meantime, GamersFirst has posted a "news report" on YouTube that covers the beta madness hitting San Paro. Check it out after the jump to find out what the influx of beta testers truly means for the city.

Judging from the response to our recent APB: Reloaded closed beta key giveaway, a lot of players are anxious to get into the game and ride around the streets of San Paro. Well, GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson's latest blog entry is focused on prepping for the open beta, which will unleash the game to all players.

Before the open beta can begin, the European datacenter needs to launch in closed beta. Once that happens, at least 25,000 more closed beta testers will be invited to join the game. If you registered for the closed beta and are waiting to join in on the process, expect a massive wave of invites to be sent out when the EU datacenter goes live, which should happen shortly after the team receives some critical network components.

Book-Larsson ends the letter by promising that everyone who applied for the closed beta will get early access ahead of open beta. Just be patient, and you'll be siding with the criminals or the enforcers in no time.

UPDATE: The 50 APB: Reloaded beta keys have been sent to the winners through our private messaging system.

Did you miss the opportunity sign up for the APB: Reloaded closed beta and are itching to join the action in the streets of San Paro? Then you'll definitely want to enter our closed beta key giveaway! GamersFirst was kind enough to give us 50 keys, and we want to share them with our readers.

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling us why you want to play APB: Reloaded. That's it! You have until Friday, March 18 at 3 p.m. EDT / noon PDT to leave your comment. At that time, we'll randomly select 50 commenters and send them keys! Feel free to comment multiple times, but only one comment per user will be counted in the giveaway.

To be clear, these keys will not give you immediate access into the APB: Reloaded closed beta, but they will queue you for the next wave. GamersFirst has emphasized that this a testing phase, so be patient for the next wave to begin.

According to a blog entry posted last night by GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson, APB: Reloaded's closed beta build 3 will likely launch early this week. When that happens, the team plans to send out 10,000 more beta invites to double the game's testing population to 20,000.

Book-Larsson states that this may be the last major closed beta build as the team switches its focus to the open beta. He also estimates that the European closed beta will begin around March 22-23.

In his latest APB: Reloaded blog entry, GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson has posted a recap of the first week of closed beta. While the bulk of the post is mainly technical, he does emphasize that the closed beta is not a live game and is being held for testing purposes:

"The entire purpose of CB is to validate the basic game systems, work out all game balance issues, solve server lag, identify any performance problems, identify any unexpected crashes and identify serious game play or progression issues. ... Let's be clear - there are SEVERAL of these issues in the game that we are working on right now. Therefore the biggest help for the team are well written bug reports of issues that you encountered in the game or details of any unexpected behaviors that you can document thoroughly."

So far, 10,000 people have been invited into the beta, and GamersFirst has seen a consistent peak of 1,200 concurrent users during this initial test. More invites will probably be sent out this week; after all, GamersFirst still has approximately 140,000 more people to let in at some point.

In other closed beta news, GamersFirst has posted three vehicle showcase videos on the APB: Reloaded Facebook page. Check them out after the jump.

In a surprisingly informative dev post on the All Points Bulletin: Reloaded blog, GamersFirst CTO and COO, Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson kicked the day off by noting that the team had sent out their first "mini-wave" of beta invitations - 2500 of them! - mostly targeted towards US and/or West Coast players. From there, Bjorn notes that they will probably begin to slowly increase their CCU count (simultaneously connected players) as time progresses, although he doesn't promise any particular time frame as they monitor statistics and data usage.

That being said, Bjorn is actually quite open with how the team is approaching the beta invitations and their plan of action for the future. Let's hope they can keep up this level of transparency!

The latest APB: Reloaded dev blog entry may be the longest one yet, and with good cause: closed beta is coming! This week, GamersFirst will be notifying players of their beta status and will soon be launching the first wave of closed beta. Wave 1 will be US-West, Wave 2 will be Europe and Wave 3 will be US-East.

According to GamersFirst's demographic data, it appears that interest in APB: Reloaded reaches out to all corners of the globe. For example, GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson notes that they received applications from the Nordic countries, as well as Germany and Australia.

To finish off the blog entry, Development Producer Scott “ScottOMon” Stevenson introduces the first closed beta patch notes. Check out the post for all the details.

APB: Reloaded Producer Jon-Enee Merriex just announced on the game's forums that GamesFirst began sending out closed beta application keys on Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. PST. "There are a lot of keys to go out so please allow a few days for these keys to be sent and processed," he said.

Merriex emphasized that players must fill out the beta application as completely and accurately as possible to be considered for the beta test. "You can submit the application whenever you'd like," he said. "We'd suggest doing it before the Closed Beta ends. It is HIGHLY likely that the invites will not go out this weekend."

GamersFirst announced last week that it had received 150,763 unique closed beta application e-mails by the time the registration window closed on Feb. 15.

GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson announced last week that the team received 150,763 unique closed beta application e-mails from players interested in trying out APB: Reloaded. According to a new blog entry posted yesterday, beta application keys will be sent out this week.

In the blog post, Producer Jon "Neume" Merriex outlines exactly what to expect from the beta application process. "First and foremost we want to be clear that Beta Application Keys guarantees that you will have a chance to APPLY for access to the APB Reloaded Closed Beta, regardless of how you received your key," he said.

The closed beta testing will require diverse system specifications, which is why you'll need to answer some questions accurately and completely to gain access to the beta. The closed beta will be rolled out in waves, but Merriex expects that the majority of applicants will gain access before open beta launches. Check out the full blog entry for more details.

The deadline to register for the first wave of APB: Reloaded closed beta keys was Feb. 15 at midnight PST. According to GamersFirst CTO and COO Bjorn "TechMech" Book-Larsson, at that time the team had received 150,763 unique closed beta application e-mails.

In the next few days, players who registered for the closed beta will receive an e-mail containing the required activation step. If all goes according to plan, the closed beta should begin during the week of Feb. 28.

If you didn't get the chance to register for a closed beta key, don't worry. Book-Larsson said that the "open beta is scheduled to happen pretty rapidly after closed beta gets under way."