Hellgate MMO mode priced

By Robert Purchese Published 9 May, 2007

USD 9.95 a month, says Roper.

Flagship Studios and EA have finally decided on a pricing model for Hellgate: London's MMO mode.

It will cost you USD 9.95 a month, and we're promised that pricing for other regions will be "equally friendly".

"For gamers that want more, we're committed to creating ongoing content and provide meaningful updates," Bill Roper, CEO of developer Flagship Studios, told Eurogamer. "Players that want to subscribe to the game can get this additional service and ongoing content for USD 9.95 [a month]."

Those of you who choose this enhanced option can expect the same sort of treatment experienced in other MMOs. There will be regular updates, raid content, guilds; all the bits and pieces you might expect. And Roper was keen to point out that it won't detract from the single-player and basic online experience.

"We know that a compelling single-player game is something that a great many gamers still want, so to be able to provide that and also create a compelling online game was our goal from day one," he added.

Hellgate: London is a single-player and massively-multiplayer online role-playing game for PC, which will let you roam the historic streets of the city while battling hordes of nasties from the depths of hell.

Head over to our Hellgate: London gamepage for all the latest screenshots, trailers and news.

Alternatively stay glued to Eurogamer for our exclusive interview with Bill Roper later in the week.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (40) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • kangarootoo #1 5 years ago

    Remember people, you have a choice (before everyone starts ranting and loading the family silver into the nearest cannon).

  • TwistidChimp #2 5 years ago

    So long as adding in the mmo functionality hasn't taken resources away from creating the sinlge player game then good luck to em I say. As for me, i'm very much looking forward to the single player Diablo style experience :)

  • Tyronne #3 5 years ago

    Indeed everyone has choice, my choice is to totally ignore this title upon release as its the start of a slippery slope down for multiplayer aspects of games...I have no problem with warcraft and its ilk having a monthly charge as its a massive online game...However this game is charging almost the same amount for just one aspect of it...and that in my mind is not something I am NOT going to pay for.

  • JonFE #4 5 years ago

    Considering the success Starcraft is still enjoying in places like Korea, it was kind of inevitable that they would charge for the multi player part.

    I'm with TwistidChimp on this one, as long as they don't cripple the single player portion of the game, I don't mind...

  • ZuluHero #5 5 years ago

    hmm has the mmo side of things become so huge that you need to pay for it then?

    I thought this was still very much a single player game. It's not persistant is it? More akin to GWs right?

  • kangarootoo #6 5 years ago

    It all really depends on what the MMO aspect of the game actually offers. We can suppose its going to be shite and not worth the money, or we can suppose it will be ace and a bargain at twice the price...

    oooooor we can simply wait and see and invest no further emotion in the matter until we have something to get elated/annoyed about.

  • homerramone #7 5 years ago

    It will cost you USD 9.95 a month, and we're promised that pricing for other regions will be "equally friendly".
    So it will be £9.99 no doubt !

  • pauleyc #8 5 years ago

    According to Hellgate Guru, the differences are as follows (and a part of them is substantial):

    * Elite subscribers pay $9.95 a month
    * 24/7 phone- and internet-support
    * No (server) queues for elite subscribers, with preference over non-paying customers
    * 3 chars per account for non-elites, 12 for elite-customers
    * Elite subscribers can store up to 40 items (instead of 20 for non-subscribers), which can be accessed from any char in an account-wide item vault.
    * Visible distinction from other players. Elite subscribers are recognisable from their equipment and may trade subscriber-only equipment to other elite subscribers.
    * VIP-Shuttles to remote areas
    * Housing and founding of guilds are enabled for subscribers. Elite subscribers may attain officer/leader privileges within their guild.
    * Elite subscribers have access to additional game modes, including Hardcore mode.
    * Elite subscribers and non-subscribers can play with each other.
    * Costs actually depend on where you live. Subscription fees in the Asian market will cost considerably less, in accordance to the market conditions and expectations of the players and local publishers within the region.

    edit: And here's the additional sugar coating -

    The subscription costs make it possible for Flagship Studios to produce additional content for Hellgate: London twice a month, or more. New content includes new items, monsters, areas, character classes and other content which are not present in the retail version of the game. It is not known as this time whether this additional content will only be available to paying subscribers.
    Edited by 2 at 09/05/07 @ 11:48

  • Laserbream #9 5 years ago

    Damn, homerramone beat me to it :(

    Edit: Damn, I hope all that subscriber only stuff is still fully available in offline mode.
    Edited by 1 at 09/05/07 @ 11:50

  • mkreku #10 5 years ago

    So basically the single player portion will be gimped so the paying customers can feel so much more special.

    Crossed off my interest list.

  • ZuluHero #11 5 years ago

    i think that only applies to the MMO side of the game though?

  • Tyronne #12 5 years ago

    Pay up per month or pay the once and get crippleware....one to avoid for me.

  • kangarootoo #13 5 years ago

    @pauleyc

    Nice one.

  • dudefella #14 5 years ago

    Boo, and indeed, hiss

    Why should we pay for this when we've always had stuff like this for free out of the box (battle.net anyone)

  • bonker #15 5 years ago

    £9.94

  • Maledictus010 #16 5 years ago

    So, very much like D2 in more ways than one. Geared towards multiplayer with some single player content added. That's what turned me away from D2 in the first place. Don't get me wrong, i understand the why of all this; after all, we're all in it for the money. But the fact that the MMO aspect gets this much attention means that (i think) the single player part can only lag behind. I'm not a fan of multiplayer to begin with so i'm gonna skip this, unless reviews tell me otherwise.

  • kangarootoo #17 5 years ago

    @dudefella

    Because it costs money to make and run?

    Seriously, I sigh everytime I see a "why should we pay" type comment. Its not rocket science. Someone makes a product, they set a price, customers decide whether to buy or not.

    Thats it. There is no "should" here. Everyone has a choice.

    /feels like a stuck record

  • bigbadbeasty #18 5 years ago

    I cannot belive people are moaning about paying a fee?

    Every damn FPS is (virtually) single player. The idea of an FPS MMO is great in my opinion, and will make a nice change! :)

  • Ryuken #19 5 years ago

    No LAN, no free hardcore mode and only three character slots for free accounts? Hopefully the rest of the game will form some kind of advancement in comparison to Diablo II...

  • UncleLou #20 5 years ago

    Pretty obvious why they can't offer what they offer for free.

    And if you don't want to pay, don't, and you get the same multiplayer experience you get with any other free multiplayer game. Much ado about nothing here. To pick this game of all games as some kind of example of the rip-off culture strikes me as very weird.

  • skillian #21 5 years ago

    Do subscriptions like this incur VAT?

  • MrAtheist #22 5 years ago

    Do subscriptions like this incur VAT?

    Yes.

  • kangarootoo #23 5 years ago

    I'm sure when they announce a UK price they will include VAT in that figure (or mention either way whether that is the case).

  • Laserbream #24 5 years ago

    kangarootoo don't forget that we are a small nation of small people

  • skillian #25 5 years ago

    Small people? Speak for yourself.

  • pauleyc #26 5 years ago

    Although "£9.95 + VAT" would be hilarious. ;-)

  • #27 5 years ago

    I have no idea what's going on in these comment/threads for this news. keeping a full team on after the game ships who continually work on and release new content should somehow be free? wtf

  • pauleyc #28 5 years ago

    For the record, the amount of extra stuff for subscribers might actually convince me to get a paying account after all. I hope they'll have a form of account suspension though (so I could return after a 1-2 month break for example).

  • kangarootoo #29 5 years ago

    @vermin

    Your problem is that you are thinking with your brain. Less of that, unless you want to stand out in the crowd and get linched.

    ;)

  • Ryuken #30 5 years ago

    "I hope they'll have a form of account suspension though (so I could return after a 1-2 month break for example)."

    According to this thread post your Elite items/extra slots will just get "frozen" then until you resubscribe.

    Still, the free online part clearly isn't the same great deal as Diablo II on battle.net and that's the kind of thing everyone has a right to complain about.
    Edited by 2 at 09/05/07 @ 17:38

  • UncleLou #31 5 years ago

    I still fail to see the problem. So subscribers might have better equipment (although I doubt that, it probably is more a visual indication) - cry me a river. It's not even a PvP game, so who cares?

    Noone would have complained if the game only had the free multiplayer mode. Now that they also offer a subscriber mode, people get their knickers in a twist.

    Now, maybe it'll turn out to be a ripoff, and the free mode is completely gimped. We can complain then. But to, with our current knowledge, wish the game to be a failure is just foolish.

    Edited by 1 at 10/05/07 @ 09:04

  • MrBiggles #32 5 years ago

    Rip off

  • skillian #33 5 years ago

    If it is successful, do you think they'll bother putting free multi-player in their next game?

    That's why people are worried, and that's the problem with the "don't like it, don't buy it" argument.

  • UncleLou #34 5 years ago

    But the point is: what they have planned for the not free multiplayer part couldn't possibly be free. You might as well argue that people should stop paying for WoW so Blizzard's next MMORPG is free.

    I'd see your point if the bog-standard multiplayer part would be subscription-based. But it isn't. And if the free multiplayer part isn't overly gimped (if it is, then we have a right to complain) and is succesful, I don't see why they won't do it exactly like that in their next game.

  • #35 5 years ago

    wait, what?

  • Tyronne #36 5 years ago

    What worries me about all this is that they are charging pretty much top dollar for just one aspect of this game, unlike warcraft like I have said before that the monthly charge encompasses all aspects of it aside from the odd expansion.I strongly disagree with the part paid option as if it is shown to be successful in this title, other publishers will no doubt follow their lead.

    I am very quickly getting sick and tired of this piecemeal side to gaming in that to get the full experience of a game you have to pay to get all the additional add ons which come out...and this is something which effects the consoles as well as the pc.I will gladly put my hands up and say yes I have bought these but at one time these were few and far between and now its getting to the stage where on the consoles at least additional content is not free but paid for at practically all times, and truth be told gaming now is getting way too expensive.

    Enough is enough as I will no longer go out of my way and spend cash on additional stuff that should be part of the game in the first place...I am not going be treated as a sheep anymore and just gladly pay for any additional bit of blah that is released, enough is enough.

  • skillian #37 5 years ago

    You might as well argue that people should stop paying for WoW

    I wish they would. Not for the reasons you state, but because the millions that game has made has encouraged every other developer to think hard about how they can get a piece of the subscription pie.

  • kangarootoo #38 5 years ago

    @skillian

    "That's why people are worried, and that's the problem with the "don't like it, don't buy it" argument."

    That isn't why people are worried. People are "worried" because some people always need to have something to winge about.

    And the "don't like it, don't buy it" argument works just fine, unless someone is an addict that simply has to have the game even if they feel ripped off by it.

    Personally, if a sequel to a game I liked lost a feature I liked, I wouldn't buy it. So what is there to be worried about? I might lament its loss... for about 10 seconds, and then I would get on with my bloody life.


    @Tyronne

    "I strongly disagree with the part paid option as if it is shown to be successful in this title, other publishers will no doubt follow their lead."

    Well of course they will follow the lead, but what is wrong with that? If it is successful, that would suggest that it meets the needs of the customers. In that event, who are we to say those customers are wrong?

    "Enough is enough as I will no longer go out of my way and spend cash on additional stuff that should be part of the game in the first place".

    Good, that is exactly the right attitude. So companies can make whatever products they like, and if you don't like them you won't buy them, I'm glad we agree :)


    @skillian

    But charging for WoW is clearly a model that works. It works for the publisher and it works for the players. It might not work for you, but then nothing will suit everyone.


    There seems to be this attitude among some gamers that every game on the planet should be made with them in mind. And any game that fails to do that is somehow "wrong" (like smelly everytime he has something to say about Oblicion or FEAR ;) ).

    Can people really not see that they just need to find the products that suit them, ignore the ones that don't (safe in the knowledge someone else somewhere will have a fine old time playing them), and reduce their blood pressure into the bargain.

  • skillian #39 5 years ago

    "That's why people are worried, and that's the problem with the "don't like it, don't buy it" argument."

    That isn't why people are worried. People are "worried" because some people always need to have something to winge about.

    That's clearly what you think because you often defend the subscription model and price of DLC in other threads, but you're wrong to assume no one is worrying where all this is leading.

    If downloadable content hadn't been such a success, would those re-made maps for GRAW2 still have cost £8 (or whatever), or would they have been given away free?

    DLC has set a precedent in consoleland, and now there's no going back. I've had nearly 10 new maps for Counter-Strike, skins, added features and more. The most recent Company of Heroes patch came with three new maps. None of these cost me a penny, yet we're not all surprised that Valve or THQ hasn't gone out of business.

    The fact is PC games companies have been supporting games for free for years, despite the fact that they usually sell less than console games.

    Most DLC is a rip off, and when people buy it or defend it they make the future of gaming more expensive for everyone.

    I know you don't agree with me (you are a game dev, right? Maybe that has something to do with it), but to say I and others just moaning for fun is unfairly dismissive. That is not the case at all.

  • UncleLou #40 5 years ago

    But people need to differentiate: is some minor DLC that in the past probably would have been part of the game in the first place a ripoff? Yes, sometimes it is.

    Does Hellgate: London, with a MMORPG-like structure, server space, content creation that is included in the subscription price, etc., sound like a rip-off? Not necessarily, and not at the moment. Especially when there's also a free mode available.

    I don't like the menatality of publishers recently to try and charge for everything, we can agree on that. I don't like the mentality of many gamers who keep asking for stuff to be free when it's obviously not possible, either, though.

    It's not a black and white area. You can't apply the same standards to something like Hellgate:London that you apply to the Oblivion horse armour.

  • UncleLou #41 5 years ago

    One more thing:

    Most DLC is a rip off, and when people buy it or defend it they make the future of gaming more expensive for everyone.

    The thing is, how do you define a rip-off? If most people are gladly paying for it, it arguably isn't. I am inclined to agree with you, btw., but it's not a simple matter.

    I find console game prices too expensive (and it's one of the reasons why I am mainly a PC gamer), but I won't blame console gamers for making gaming more expensive for everyone. I blame them for enough other stuff already. ;p

  • skillian #42 5 years ago

    I actually agree with you that the model for Hellgate London is actually not that bad of a deal (although we don't know the price here yet).

    This was probably not the best thread to rant in, but I had to make my point ;)