One point I haven't seen mentioned in this discussion that I think is worth keeping in mind. *IF* CoH as it currently exists can be kept up and running, that creates a revenue stream for any effort to build a successor game. It also gives a customer base for additional ideas to produce revenue, many of which have floated around for years and been under-utilized.
So even if you think the existing codebase pretty much needs to completely discarded and an entirely new successor designed, securing the current game does have an important point. It is a lot easier to pay the bills while you develop your new release when you have a viable product keeping the lights on.