City of Heroes Publisher Granted License to Fan Server

The publisher of City of Heroes has granted a license to a fan server, and we've got the details here!
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City Of Heroes Freedom With Heroes
Image: NCSOFT

In a surprising turn of events, NCSoft, the publisher of the defunct superhero MMO City of Heroes, has granted an official license to the popular private server “Homecoming.” There’s no doubt it’s a big deal for the game’s dedicated community, which has kept City of Heroes alive through unofficial servers since its closure in 2012.

Homecoming, established in 2019, was one of several private servers operating the City of Heroes codebase. While these servers provided a way for players to continue enjoying the game, they existed in a legal grey area, vulnerable to potential shutdown by NCSoft. The official license agreement eliminates this uncertainty, establishing Homecoming as a sanctioned continuation of City of Heroes.

Importantly, the agreement allows Homecoming to not only operate the game but also develop new content, something previously beyond the reach of private servers. So, technically, the game is no longer defunct or closed. This counts as it being back.

The precise details of the licensing agreement and its potential limitations have yet to be fully disclosed. However, in their announcement, the Homecoming team has reassured players that existing accounts and characters will remain safe. Additionally, Homecoming will continue to operate as a free-to-play experience supported by player donations.

NCSoft’s decision to embrace Homecoming represents a unique turn in the history of MMORPGs. It’s the first time a major publisher has officially legitimized a private server for one of its discontinued games. There is a possibility that this move could set a precedent for future similar situations. I’m hoping The Matrix Online is next since I would hate to see it taken over by the official writers.

There are plenty of situations this can apply to outside of City of Heroes, like Star Wars Galaxies. However, just like The Matrix Online, it’s not likely to be given a license. When bigger studios and publishers own an IP, they generally don’t want to leave it in the hands of people they don’t have direct control over. So this may just be a one-off.

Jorge A. Aguilar

Jorge A. Aguilar

Jorge A. Aguilar, also known as Aggy, is the current Assigning Editor.

He started his career as an esports, influencer, and streaming writer for Sportskeeda. He then moved to GFinity Esports to cover streaming, games, guides, and news before moving to the Social team where he ended his time as the Lead of Social Content.

He also worked a writer and editor for both Pro Game Guides and Dot Esports, and as a writer for PC Invasion, Attack of the Fanboy, and Android Police. Aggy is the former Managing Editor and Operations Overseer of N4G Unlocked and a former Gaming editor for WePC.

Throughout his time in the industry, he's trained over 100 writers, written thousands of articles on multiple sites, written more reviews than he cares to count, and edited tens of thousands of articles. He has also written some games published by Tales, some books, and a comic sold to Telus International.

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