True classics: Richard Garriott recently confirmed that he will soon be reacquiring the IP rights to the Ultima series from EA. The respected game designer and the publisher have already exchanged a few emails on the subject, so things could soon get going again for one of the most iconic CRPG series of all time.
Richard Garriott will soon get the Ultima rights back and is already planning what he will do with the series after that. The British-born American game designer, entrepreneur and space tourist played an important role in establishing the CRPG genre in the age of home computers. Now the man behind the Lord British persona wants another go at the popular series that debuted nearly half a century ago.
Garriott recently reiterated what he believes will happen in a year. Thanks to a “really strange” US copyright law, the original rights holder can essentially reclaim their intellectual property 35 years after it was sold to someone else. The process does not require any payment; The original owner only needs to notify the current rights holder one year before reclaiming the intellectual property.
Lord British contacted EA, the most recent holder of the Ultima rights, in April this year. As he explained in the interview, the publisher acknowledged his request and confirmed that it would act in accordance with US copyright law.
As things stand, Garriott will officially become owner of the Ultima series again in 2027. The designer is considering his next move this year, as the Ultima brand may still hold some weight among CRPG fans. Lord British could eventually re-release the previous Ultima games on modern platforms or launch an entirely new Ultima experience. He is even considering collaborating with EA again to secure the franchise’s future in gaming.
“The point is – I’m back in control of the future of my groundbreaking product line,” Garriott said in the interview.
Richard Garriott sold Origin Systems along with the Ultima series to Electronic Arts in 1992. Ultima IX, the last main installment in the series, was released in 1999. Subsequent attempts to revive the franchise, such as the free-to-play game Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar in 2013, failed to gain enough traction with players.
In the ’80s and early ’90s, Ultima helped introduce new conventions and mechanics to computer role-playing games. Alongside Wizardry, Might and Magic and several other influential franchises, the series set standards and pioneered innovations that were later adopted by many successful games. To this day, fans continue to develop new projects and remakes, leveraging the creative DNA of the original Ultima games.
