The behemoth that is the PC digital distribution platform Steam has just grown even more. Valve has announced that it is now offering subscription-based titles to its platform, starting with Aventurine’s Darkfall Unholy Wars – a fantasy MMO.
The game can be purchased for $40 with a monthly $15 subscription fee that is automatically renewed. The subscription can be canceled or changed at a moment’s notice.
While it’s interesting that this is the first dedicated subscription based offering from Steam, a good number of titles like EverQuest and DC Universe Online used to be hosted on Steam as subscription based titles before going free to play.
The response would be interesting given how free to play MMO titles with a one-time buy are more the rage – Guild Wars 2, for example – while games like Funcom’s The Secret World struggled endlessly. Maybe the backing of Steam will be the point in favour of such initiatives? We’ll find out soon.