In a somewhat surprising announcement, Shacknews are reporting that the Diablo-styled Hellgate: London will now feature heavy MMO elements. The entire multiplayer side of the game will be subscription based, with guilds, social system and instanced raid content.

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.

Hellgate: London is due for release on PC this Summer.