Steam adds a new title that comes with a new payment scheme.

Aventurine’s fantasy MMO Darkfall Unholy Wars launched on Steam as the first automatic renewal subscription-based title.  Players can purchase the game for $40 and it will automatically charge the gamer $15 per month afterwards.  As players can cancel (and manage) their subscription at any time, they won’t need to worry about being surprised by the upkeep.

The 411 of Steam’s Subscription plan

To make any purchase on Steam, you need a credit card tied to your account.  This makes purchasing titles easier.

To Purchase a subscription, just go to the subscription-based game’s page on the Steam Store and choose the subscription plan you want.

To manage your account such as your payment details, method of payment, or cancelling a subscription, just go to your   Account Details.  If you cancel your subscription, say in the middle of the month, access to the game will not automatically expire, it will remain active until the paid plan expires.

If you’ve terminated your subscription, but want to subscribe once again, there’s a chance that you can get back your game history.  In some cases, your game data will automatically be re-linked to your Steam account, but in some cases, you will need to contact the game publisher to re-initiate your previous game account and link it to yout Steam account.

For the auto renewed subscription plan, you can review past and known upcoming charges in your  Account Details page, but some titles have their own billing system so to find out if you have an upcoming bill, you need to visit your game account for that information.

And finally, Steam email you billing details upon completion of every transaction.  This assures gamers that they are billed correctly and no overcharges will be made.