DC Universe Online is now set to arrive for the PC and PlayStation 3 on January 11 in North America and on January 14 in Europe, SOE confirmed to IGN in an interview. Sony Online Entertainment also revealed a lifetime subscription option for the game, priced at $199 (about the price of just over a year of service).

While the prospect of purchasing a single subscription to your favorite MMO sounds like a grand idea, the fear is that the game may not live long enough to make it worth the investment. According to Chris Cao, DC Universe Online's future is about as strong as Superman with a tan. "We're going to be here for far more than a single year. We've got a lot of universe to build, and we're not going to stop anytime soon," he told IGN.

As a "thank you" to beta testers, Cao detailed a plan for an upcoming "end-of-beta" event that will occur prior to the game's launch, which will put players alongside their favorite DC heroes.

"Jim Lee and our friends at DC are going to join us in a live, end-of-beta event where players will fight alongside and against the iconics as Brainiac's menace yet looms," Cao said. "Players will be able to experience what would've happened had they followed in the footsteps of the cinematic and battled each other instead of fighting to save Earth. It will be an epic end and thank you for beta. And it will set the stage for the real struggle to come in live."

Would you consider purchasing a lifetime subscription for DC Universe Online?