Speculation over the pricing of Hellgate: London’s multiplayer component has ended, as Flagship Studios revealed details of the game’s subscription fees.
While the standard multiplayer component will be free, the game will also offer an Elite multiplayer option for $9.95 per month. The differences include:
- Elite players get 24/7 phone and online support; standard players get basic online support as with any other game.
- If there are queues to get on a server, Elite players go to the front.
- Elite players can have 12 characters in total; standard players get three.
- Elite players can store around 40 items in “lockers” spread throughout the world; standard players can have 20. Elite players can also transfer these items to characters on other servers; standard players cannot.
- Elite players get unique gear and can wield the most powerful weapons in the game, which can also be emailed by the Elite to others of their kind.
- Elite players can board shuttles that transport them quickly to hard-to-reach corners of London.
- Elite players can become officers of guilds and own, enter or operate player housing and guild buildings; standard players can be members of guilds, but will not be allowed to enter said buildings, or purchase property for themselves.
- Elite players get access to more gametypes; standard players not allowed into servers or areas where those gametypes are operating.
- Elite players will get new content each month, such as new monsters, gametypes and items.
While Hellgate: London is a single-player game, Flagship Studios executive Bill Roper has explained the monthly charge for Elite multiplayer by saying that the game has actually been designed as an MMOG from day one.
Hellgate: London is an action/RPG described as being similar “in spirit” in a number of ways to the Diablo games, at least in part due to the fact that Flagship Studios was founded by several ex-Blizzard and Blizzard North employees. It is scheduled to ship in the summer of 2007.
