Once upon a time, it was commonplace for online games to have subscription fees. The earliest popular graphical online games, including Ultima Online and EverQuest, all had recurring service fees, as did many games that came after, such as Final Fantasy XI and World of Warcraft.
That model has largely given way to the “freemium” model where

Source: Hot Hardware – Rockstar Launches GTA+ Subscription Service With Member Exclusive Benefits But Is It Worth It?