It's definitely sort of that. You can run your own server, as well, though this comes with its own limitations (and inherently takes away from the want for more players). Most of the developers have varying goals with the project. When I was working on the project, my care was primarily for making the game as close to the original as possible using "replays" by dedicated players before the original shut down. It was fun to write code for something that felt like it would give some folks a nostalgia hit.

I think optimally, you'd do something more akin to a "group ironman" with some friends. This guarantees you've got others around.