Flagship Studios\' optional monthly subscription plan for Hellgate: London has been revealedin Games for Windows: The Official Magazine, claims fansite HellgateGuru. The game\'s multiplayer model has remained clouded in a degree ofmystery, though statements from Flagship personnel have indicated thatsome kind of paid service was in the works.

According to the details reprinted by Hellgate Guru, Hellgate:London online players will have the option of paying a $9.95 monthlyfee for an Elite subscription, which confers a number of advantagesover the standard free online membership. For their payment, Elitesubscribers will receive 12 character slots rather than three, accessto a Diablo II-esque Hardcore mode, the freedom to bypass serverqueues, account-wide storage for 40 items (as opposed to 20 items for non-Elites), permission to create guilds andattain officer status, distinguishing Elite features and Elite-onlyequipment, in-game VIP shuttles, and 24-hour customer support. Eliteand non-Elite players may interact fully within the game world, andnon-Elite players may join guilds.

Flagship plans to support Hellgate: London with regularly releasedadditional content, potentially as frequently as twice a month. StudioCEO Bill Roper has noted that Flagship has always planned to addcontent to the game on a regular basis, but would need an appropriatefinancial model to do so.

"What you\'re getting with that service is you\'re getting 24/7customer service, secure servers, databases, and the biggest thing isthat you\'re getting continuing content," Roper explained to Shacknewsin January, prior to the pricing finalization. "We\'ll have a full devteam that\'s on the project from day one. Actually, right when you buythe game, when it launches there will already be content available thatyou can\'t get in the single-player--additional monsters, areas, all thecommunity and economy things, you\'ll be able to form guilds, auctionhouses, all those things you expect from MMOs."

Shacknews has contacted Flagship Studios and co-publisher Electronic Arts for confirmation of these details.