I sorta remember Earth: 2025 and Utopia being a bit like that. You’d generate turns over time and login once or twice a day to spend the turns. Not sure if that’s exactly what you meant by BBS though, and the only ones I know offhand I think were all late 90s starts.

A redemption arc this late would’ve had to have been quietly making a great game, no big announcements in advance until it was done or nearly so and playable, and then letting it speak for itself.