Maybe. Actually maybe.
http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,10284.0 has the details (including some bits about the negotiations with NC Soft), but essentially what's being discussed:
'The CoH IP would be spun to its own company, to handle licensing. This company would itself license the existing engine from NCSoft for the creation of a maintenance mode, using a binary copy of the i23 server.
The existing user database and characters are not part of this arrangement at this time, nor is the source code.
An arrangement is to be made to license the trademarks to the various Plan Z projects, CoT, Valiance and H&V, to create a family connection, and to allow each to drop the “Spiritual” portion of successor. This means they can make references to the original game if desired, and to enable the expansion of partnerships. This could be expanded for any of them, should the desire be there.
An arrangement is also to be made for the Atlas Park Revival project. As part of the informal agreement we have with them, they would be given an official stamp of approval, and the CoT game build would be licensed to them, to create a kind of “CoH 1.5” and migrate people off of the classic game engine before it finally becomes unsuitable (we expect this to happen around when Windows 9 is released, due to binary compatibility). This can be done because both APR and CoT run on Unreal Engine 4.’
So an interim version of Issue 23 would be running, ties would be established with some of the successor games under development, and a migration plan figured out prior to the CoH binaries breaking under Win9.
Nothing's been inked yet, but that's what's under apparently serious discussion with NC Soft.
That would be … very cool.
NCsoft might allow players to resurrect the City of Heroes IP
Massively
