Blockbuster to Offer Online Game Rentals

Rental company Blockbuster today announced plans to begin offering online game rentals to its Total Access subscribers by the second half of the year.

The company will initially launch a pilot program during the second quarter of 2009, allowing a select number of Total Access members a chance to test the service. Blockbuster says it will offer games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Wii platforms.

While the release notes that existing Total Access subscription plans will simply gain video game rentals as a bonus, a Joystiq report adds that subscribers will be charged $5 once per month for in-store exchanges of games.

The pilot program will be testing an "integrated plan" of movie and game rentals, allowing customers to rent both types of media at once under an existing subscription.