The latest issue of Games for Windows Magazine has revealed all the details pertaining to the subscription service Hellgate: London will be sporting. Luckily, previous statements proved to be true as online multiplayer will be free for all players. Beyond that, there are some perks that may warrant paying the monthly fee of $9.95 to become an ‘Elite’ player, but casual players should find the free game to suffice. If Hellgate turns out to be anything like Diablo, it’s going to suck in a lot of unsuspecting people and get them to fork over that subscription fee.

• Multiplay will be free!
• Elite Multiplay will cost $9.95 a month
• Secure, closed servers hold your characters, even if you’re not Elite
• Elite players get 24/7 phone and online support; plebs 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; plebs get 3
• Elite players can store around 40 items in “lockers” spread throughout the world; plebs can have 20. Elite players can also transfer these items to characters on other servers; plebs cannot
• Elite players get unique gear and can wield the most powerful weapons in the game. Said weapons 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; plebs 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; plebs not allowed into servers or areas where those gametypes are operating
• Elite players will get new content each month, such as new monsters, new gametypes, new items, and so on

Seems pretty fair to me, except for a few choice details – only Elite players will have access to the most powerful weapons, meaning they will undoubtedly dominate the PvP portion of the game. And not allowing plebs to enter houses or guild buildings seems pretty lame. But, all in all, a pretty fine balance has been struck here, and given time, things may be leveled even more.