The private servers have been up a while. But it is always hard for fan projects to gain traction for devs, players, or donations, when the IP could be yanked at any time. NCSoft granting a license should provide one heck of a shot in the arm for this cult classic game.
Go. Hunt. KILL Skul!
I rarely delve in the world of private servers. Last one I played on was Nostalrius (World of Warcraft) and that was purely because WoW had gone through a slew of shitty expansions leaving the game fundamentally changed for the worse with no way to experience the original game version.
Of course after Blizzard C&D’d the project I’m glad I didn’t sink loads of time into the server.
I have thought about giving Dragon Ball Online Global, Pristontale EU or Return of Reckoning a try, either because the MMO’s shut down or because the official offering is pay-to-win dogshit. But I worry their publishers are gonna come after the projects hard. Games Workshop and Toei/Shueisha are known to be VERY litigious.