Bill Roper: Hellgate subscription is for “access to new content”

If you’ve heard the news about subscriptions being present in the future of Flagship Studios‘  Hellgate: London, then you know it was an unexpected blow to many gamers. Expectations of the game being free to play were rampant, so the inclusion of a subscription service seemed anathema to the fanbase.

Luckily, Bill Roper explained the reason behind the subscription service. In a letter on Hellgate: London’s website, he mentioned that while the game would remain free, gamers with subscriptions would be getting mini-expansions as the development team makes new areas for gamers to play around with:

Gamers also want choices, and we have so many great ideas for Hellgate: London, and the concept is so extendable, that we know we can keep adding to this game for a long time. We want to continue moving Hellgate: London forward in some really exciting directions, and to support ongoing development weÂ’ve created a subscription service to give players access to new content as we go along. This commitment to our gamers was also a part of our plans for Hellgate: London from the very beginning.

In short, what subscribers are getting is new content – not simply “better” things. Another way of thinking of this would be that we’re delivering smaller expansions over time rather than having players wait a year or more before they finally get something new.

The fact that the game is free to play out of the box is already an enticing concept, though we’re still a bit hesitant to see why gamers won’t be getting free upgrades like WoW manages to give through patches. Still, if this means that new areas are going to be periodically unveiled for all levels, then it opens up a whole new dimension for subscribers who want to get diverse content in a pinch.

To read Bill Roper’s letter of explanation on Hellgate London‘s Elite subscription, click on Read link below.

If you’ve heard the news about subscriptions being present in the future of Flagship Studios‘  Hellgate: London, then you know it was an unexpected blow to many gamers. Expectations of the game being free to play were rampant, so the inclusion of a subscription service seemed anathema to the fanbase.

Luckily, Bill Roper explained the reason behind the subscription service. In a letter on Hellgate: London’s website, he mentioned that while the game would remain free, gamers with subscriptions would be getting mini-expansions as the development team makes new areas for gamers to play around with:

Gamers also want choices, and we have so many great ideas for Hellgate: London, and the concept is so extendable, that we know we can keep adding to this game for a long time. We want to continue moving Hellgate: London forward in some really exciting directions, and to support ongoing development weÂ’ve created a subscription service to give players access to new content as we go along. This commitment to our gamers was also a part of our plans for Hellgate: London from the very beginning.

In short, what subscribers are getting is new content – not simply “better” things. Another way of thinking of this would be that we’re delivering smaller expansions over time rather than having players wait a year or more before they finally get something new.

The fact that the game is free to play out of the box is already an enticing concept, though we’re still a bit hesitant to see why gamers won’t be getting free upgrades like WoW manages to give through patches. Still, if this means that new areas are going to be periodically unveiled for all levels, then it opens up a whole new dimension for subscribers who want to get diverse content in a pinch.

To read Bill Roper’s letter of explanation on Hellgate London‘s Elite subscription, click on Read link below.