NCSoft, the developer behind the MMORPG City of Heroes, has granted a license to its fans to host a resurrected version of the game on a private server, called Homecoming.
“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,” said the Homecoming team in a statement.
The Homecoming team has also assured that players’ accounts and characters are safe, and that development of new content will continue. Additionally, Homecoming will still be free and the game will be funded entirely by donations.
Homecoming creators aren’t required to pay any up front or recurring license fees, but will increase their donation targets in order to save the money in case something goes wrong. While NCSoft has given the green light to Homecoming, the developer can still request that the private server be shut down at any time. Additionally, development will continue to be closed-source rather than open-source.
City of Heroes launched on PC in 2004 and ended service in 2012. However, source code was made available in 2019, which renewed interest in the game as players hosted it outside of NCSoft’s direct involvement.
In GameSpot’s City of Heroes review, we said, “It’s a refreshingly focused online role-playing experience, and is an entertaining, polished game that, unlike so many others, manages to deliver on the underlying promise of an excellent concept.”
