City of Heroes Fan Server is now officially licensed by NCSoft

City of Heroes is officially back as the fan server dedicated to keeping the multiplayer superhero game running has received an official license from publisher NCSOFT.

revealed in a Share the forum, a representative of the Homecoming fan server announced that their hard work has paid off. City of Heroes shut down more than a decade ago in November 2012, but fan servers kept players entertained, and now the largest of them has officially revived the massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

“We would like to thank you all for your patience over the past few years, and we are very pleased to report that it has paid off,” the post read. “NCSOFT has officially granted Homecoming the license to host City of Heroes.”

Since fans will have many questions about the change, the post clarifies the most important points: player accounts and characters are safe, new content will continue to be developed, and will remain free and powered by donations. More details will arrive in the coming months.

“Fulfill your comic book dreams in this MMORPG that's home to an entire world of super-powered heroes and villains,” the game's synopsis reads. “Build your own unique hero from millions of possible character combinations and venture into Paragon City to discover all the dangers, wonders and excitement that await you.”

In our 8/10 review from 2004, when the game debuted, IGN said: “City of Heroes is fun. It's exciting, colorful, cute, brutal, and a great achievement for comic books in MMO form. It feels like it.” “It's a great place to start for those who have always found MMOs scary.”

Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance reporter at IGN. He'll talk about The Witcher all day long.