Hellgate: London to be a subscription based MMO

Remember how you were excited to play Hellgate: London, a game that many were calling the spiritual successor to Diablo? Well, how’s this for a kick in a nuts? In a recent conversation with Shacknews, developer Flagship Studios revealed that the games online component will be a subscription based MMO.

From the Shacknews report:

Drawing similarities to ArenaNet’s Guild Wars, the Hellgate MMO is heavily instanced. Group and solo PvE is the game’s main focus; PvP will exist in a small scale form, but is not a major element of the initial launch. It will also feature a Hardcore mode similar to that found in Blizzard’s Diablo II, a game on which many members of the Hellgate team worked. Hellgate’s MMO will contain all of the missions and story from the single-player aspect of the game, as well as exclusive gameplay modes and content. Like the single-player game, the MMO will be comprised of dynamically generated areas and items. Further content will be continually added over time by a dedicated Flagship team.

So it’s going to be like Guild Wars expect while that game has a free monthly experience, you’re going to have to pony up dough monthly to participate online? Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, guys. Hey Flagship — why don’t you just come right over to my house tomorrow morning and crap in my box of Cocoa Puffs before I wake up?

While the single player game will remain intact, the multiplayer portion of the game was a main draw for a lot of gamers; particularly those with frightening Diablo addictions.