Cult superhero MMO City of Heroes – which shut down way back in 2012 – will officially live on, thanks to the efforts of its dedicated fan community. As recently announced by the folks behind the Homecoming fan server revival of City of Heroes, the original game publisher NCSoft has now granted the Homecoming team an official license to keep the game running.
While City of Heroes was shut down more than a decade ago, it maintains a passionate audience which has continued to build on its legacy. Previously operating in an unofficial capacity, the game’s Homecoming fan revival is now licensed under contract, with minimal changes planned for the future.
“We’d like to thank you all for your patience over the past few years, and we’re incredibly thrilled to announce that it’s paid off: NCSoft has officially granted Homecoming a license to host City of Heroes,” the development team announced in a blog post. “Exciting times are ahead.”
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According to the announcement blog, City of Heroes will remain free and donation-funded, as there are no licensing fees included in the NCSoft deal. The team does anticipate an increase in overheads to “keep up with [its] commitments as a licensee” however, and will be increasing its donation targets to “build up a disaster recovery fund”.
Regardless, the version of City of Heroes revived by Homecoming will remain free-to-play, with anyone able to jump in and experience or re-experience the nostalgia of this iconic early 2000s MMO.
Homecoming has made clear that NCSoft still has the right to shut down its server, as the publisher maintains ownership of the City of Heroes IP – but for now, the team remains dedicating to keeping the game alive, and development on new features will continue.
In an era where fan servers are so often disregarded, with many companies shutting down or prosecuting those behind MMO revivals, the news of the Homecoming fan server being granted an official license is most welcome. We should celebrate that even decades on from its peak, City of Heroes maintains such a passionate and focussed audience base.
Those keen to check out the now-official City of Heroes fan revival established by Homecoming can find out more about the game online.
