Back in January, we posted a story that Flagship Studios’ upcoming action/RPG, Hellgate: London, will use a subscription-based service for the online portion of the game.The subscription concept was not set in stone at the time, but fan-site Hellgate Guru reported today that there will be a subscription rate for additional features but that the game itself will be free to play online.
Dubbed the "Elite" subscription, players who opt for this plan will have to fork over $9.95 a month for extra services including 24/7 phone/internet support (non-paying will still have access to support too), no server queues (i.e. preference over non-paying customers), 12 characters per account (only 3 characters per account for non-paying), 40 storable item slots in an account-wide item vault that’s accessible by any of their characters (only 20 item slots for non-paying), special distinguishable equipment that can only be traded to other paying players, VIP shuttles to remote areas, housing, founding and maintaining of guilds, and access to additional game modes (including Hardcore). In addition, paying and non-paying members can play with each other in the game.
In a follow-up forum post, Ping-0 Senior Community Manager Kaiser confirms the subscription plan. Although the elite subscription has upgraded privileges and features, the free online portion is still very hearty. "That info is correct. Again, the game will have as robust an online game as, say, Diablo II, for free. The Elite plan comes with some extra perks, but really doesn’t detract from the core game at all. Ultimately, all of the extra content we have planned for the future requires funding, as do the servers, support, etc., hence a monthly fee."
One of the reasons for the optional subscription scheme is to fund extra content that Flagship Studios is planning to release at least twice a month. This will include new items, monsters, areas, and character classes. Hellgate: London is scheduled for launch this summer.
Ping-0 is a newly formed joint venture company that will manage and maintain the online portion of Hellgate: London.
