If you're going to care about this, you don't need me explaining it:
http://www.ageofwonders.com/aow3live/ Planned fall 2013.
And for those of you who do care about that game, you may also be interested in this game which is already out:
http://www.desura.com/games/dominions-3-the-awakening It's a bit more low-budget and PBEM oriented, but has been around for years and has a fanatical online community. Imagine something more like Stars in a fantasy world.