Yes & No. You can pay a $10 Standard subscription for 6 months to access the online service, plus the $25 base price for a game system. You buy game systems/packages separately - exactly the same way it worked under Classic. [Actually, if you didn't already have HL classic, you'd pay $35 for HL and one game system.] Yes, its a subscription, but it's not expensive compared to nearly anything. HLO won't let you change or level up characters offline.
HLO FAQ