Hellgate: London Going Free-to-Play, Big Update Soon

[GameBanshee News]

Gamasutra is reporting that HanbitSoft plans to make Hellgate: London a free-to-play title in North America, which presumably means that the closed servers won't be taken offline on January 31st as previously planned. A new "large-scale" patch is coming soon, as well:

The switch to a free-to-play model was the first official announcement the company has made regarding the fate of the title, which during its lifetime suffered from perceived quality issues, and an insufficient userbase, playing a key role in the closing of Flagship Studios in July 2008.

HanbitSoft also says in an official press statement seen by Gamasutra that future updates for Hellgate: London are in the works, with a focus on "strengthening community features" while maintaining the core gameplay as is.

The next "large-scale" patch, according to HanbitSoft, will be released "soon," and will combine the game's two play modes to unify its communities. The company also plans class balance improvements and further distinction between the game's five acts.

If they actually release a patch for the North American version and my characters continue to exist on Shulgoth, I just might have to install the game again.