Hellgate: London Online Multiplayer Features Enhanced but Not for Free

You probably already know that Hellgate: London will be shipping this summer, but today some information surfaced about the game's online multiplayer components. Once you get a copy of the game, you won't be able to take advantage of Hellgate: London's unique multiplayer features, you will have to pay a subscription.

Flagship Studios CEO, Bill Roper was at this year's CES and there he spoke to Shacknews and revealed that the upcoming FPS will have some impressive multiplayer features, in their own unique way but inspired from massively multiplayer games. It will feature "genre trappings such as guilds, continually development content a full social system and a raid-type gameplay".

You might say that this is similar to ArenaNet's Guild Wars but know that Hellgat's online will focus mainly on group and solo PvE, and that PvP will be only a small part of the game. It will also feature a Hardcore mode similar to that found in Diablo II. This is not so surprising because many members of the Hellgate development team also worked on Diablo II.

Flagship plans to launch an open beta before the actual game is released. Roper did not reveal any pricing details but he suggested that there will be some kind of a trail of free play system for the ones who want to get a taste before they buy. As to the similarities with Diablo II, this is what Flagship's CEO had to say: "I think that just as Diablo and Diablo II started this religious argument over whether they're RPGs or not, I think that Hellgate will spark that same debate over whether it's an MMO or not".