City of Heroes | |
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Developer(s) | Cryptic Studios (formerly) Paragon Studios (formerly) Homecoming Servers |
Publisher(s) | NCSOFT |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X |
Release | WindowsMac OS X
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Genre(s) | Massively multiplayer online role-playing |
Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
City of Heroes (CoH) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game originally created by Cryptic Studios prior to the IP’s acquisition by NCSoft. Previously developed by the now-defunct Paragon Studios, it is currently developed by Homecoming Servers under a limited license from NCSoft. The game was launched in North America on April 28, 2004,[2] and in Europe by NCsoft Europe on February 4, 2005, with English, German and French servers. In the game, players created super-powered player characters that could team up with others to complete missions and fight criminals belonging to various gangs and organizations in the fictional Paragon City.
Twenty-three free major updates for City of Heroes were released before its shutdown. The final live update, "Where Shadows Lie", was released on May 31, 2012. On August 31, 2012, NCsoft terminated its Paragon Studios development team, ending all production on City of Heroes[3] with the last day of services on November 30, 2012.[4]
In April 2019, source code capable of running a City of Heroes server was distributed widely. This made it possible to create City of Heroes servers outside the direct purview of NCSoft[5] and revived interest in the game, which by then had been out of development for more than six years.
On January 4, 2024, NCSoft granted Homecoming Servers, LLC, who operated the rogue server Homecoming: City of Heroes an official license to host the game.[6][7][8][9]
City of Heroes Shutdown
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).