Steam has announced a new service that will let users sign up and manage their subscriptions for certain games that require periodic payments from within the Steam client itself. The first game that Steam has enabled the service for is Darkfall Unholy Wars, a fantasy MMORPG. In an update on its site, Valve has revealed that more subscription based games available on Steam will soon enable the service.
According to the update from Valve, by enabling the new service, gamers will be able to not only sign-up and manage their game subscriptions but also renew or cancel their game subscriptions. At present, gamers need to manage their subscriptions within the individual games themselves and Steam’s new service makes it easier for gamers by letting them manage all their subscriptions from one place.
There are certain limitations to the service though. For e.g. Steam users can purchase a non-subscription game with the express intent of gifting it to a friend on Steam. However, users won’t be able to do the same with game subscriptions. Also, if a user has multiple accounts for the same game, he will only be able to link one account with his Steam account.
Darkfall Unholy Wars
Most games that rely on subscriptions are of the MMORPG variety and Steam has some big titles listed with components that require subscription including games like Dungeons & Dragons Online, The Lord of the Rings Online and DC Universe Online. Steam has also published an FAQ for users interested in the subscription service.