So, you bought Realtime Worlds' now-dead MMO APB this summer (whoops!) and now you'd like your money back. Brick-and-mortar isn't going to give you a refund because of piracy and, well, just because, but it's possible that EA will provide you some sort of compensation. In a recent thread on the Steam forums, there are claims that the game's distributor, via its support line, is offering a free EA-published game to disgruntled purchasers of APB. It's also alternatively offering $20 vouchers towards an EA game purchase and, in one case, 4000 BioWare Points for whatever you want to spend them on.
And as if that wasn't enough, it appears as if people who bought digital copies of the game via the EA store are receiving full refunds, according to a recent Gamasutra post. The catch is that you'll have to provide an unlock key, though even that is being called into question.
As previously reported, Realtime Worlds won't be refunding any real cash to players with funny money locked up in the failed MMO, and to be fair the studio isn't really in any condition to do so, considering the recent closure of its Dundee and Colorado offices. (Realtime doesn't even have a website anymore, as if you needed another indication of how things are going.) So, dealing with EA support is probably the only way to get anything back, and thankfully, the publisher wants to score some brownie points with those who got burned. Give it a shot, if you've got the time. It's not like you'll be busy playing APB or anything!