OH MY GOD THE GOG TEAM IS STILL ALIVE

How do you know they're not wearing an evil goatee?

I actually enjoyed HGL. The gameplay was flawed and unpolished, the story was shit but the setting, art direction and overall atmosphere of the game was delicious.

Probably. After all, you'd have thought that the sheer volume of failed WoW clones would deter people from making more. But it doesn't seem to.
People intending to make a successful MMO are going to have to make something very distinct and original. APB seemed to be doing that much right. But clearly they set themselves an insurmountable debt mountain and were doomed from the start.
There is speculation that Epic are very interested in APB. But that interest seems to be more focussed on the engine than the game itself.