The pricing model for Hellgate: London was initially discussed as being extremely similar to both Diablo II (because of the Blizzard North connection) and Guild Wars, another of Diablo's spiritual descendants: an expansion based pricing model that involved no monthly fees. When Flagship hinted at monthly fees in January, 2007, many fans expressed their shock and discontent, with some who planned to pre-order the game claiming they would no longer purchase it at all.

The official subscription plan, costing (U.S.) a month in exchange for "Elite" status, was eventually announced in the Games for Windows magazine. The main benefit of paying is that Elite status is required to receive ongoing content updates, expected to be released every two or three months.[citation needed] The initial content updates will include socketed armor, more monsters, more weapons, additional item sets and special quests for ultimate items. New dungeons will also be included in content updates, accessible using a special subscriber-only dropship.