Big budget will be entering beta next week, the developer have confirmed - chief Gary Dale spilling the beans at a London-based Tech Media Invest shindig.

Beta application opened last month, so speculation has been rife for some time that a trial for the new game is looming.

EA will deliver the game's full release in 2010, with a proper launch in the spring expected.

Big things are certainly expected of APB, the title billed in some quarters as an MMO version of (RTW boss Dave Jones is regarded as the original creator of GTA). More as we get it.

By Luke Guttridge