As others have mentioned, the balancing can be good and bad at the same time.
I actually do agree with your view on the playerbase. It is not only on the quantity side, but also the quality. It really hurts when more than half of the gaming population face their daily hackusations, along with everyday humiliation of actual cheaters on our missions. There is no news in all these to San Paro citizens.
Just to bear in mind that the playerbase/community and the game contents go hand in hand. Whether it's a perfectly designed game with few advertisements or an unpolished game with a big community, they both do not earn the long-term appreciation that they deserve. These deep-rooted conflicts and problems are what APB:R has been facing all these years. Future improvements and updates should accommodate both factors in order to put positive effects on the game.