This is how an old IP can make a worthy comeback after being completely neglected by its owner for over a decade.

Ultima is one of the most significant milestones in PC gaming history. Richard “Lord British” Garriott’s role-playing game series was a pioneer in many genres. The main series’ CRPGs earned critical acclaim thanks to their rich, dynamic worlds. Meanwhile, spin-offs such as Ultima Underworld and Ultima Online played pivotal roles in the evolution of immersive simulators and MMOs. Ultima’s influence is still felt today. Ultima VII served as major inspiration for Larian Studios during the development of Divinity: Original Sin and Baldur’s Gate 3.

However, the Ultima series has not been actively developed for quite some time. Electronic Arts has held the rights to the series since 1992, when Garriott sold Origin Systems to the publisher. Although some good Ultima games were released afterward, most notably Ultima Online, Electronic Arts largely sidelined the series. The few exceptions were the unsuccessful 2010 game Lord of Ultima and the 2013 game Ultima Forever. That may soon change, though, as control of the series could return to Garriott in the near future.

Garriott reportedly explained this to Inside Games reporter Brian Gaar. Electronic Arts recently registered new trademarks related to the Ultima series, prompting Gaar to call Garriott to find out if he knew anything about it. According to Gaar, Garriott said he had tried several times to revive Ultima while it was under Electronic Arts’ control. Now, however, Garriott is reclaiming the series’ copyrights from the publisher. This is possible due to a provision in U.S. copyright law that allows authors, or their heirs, to reclaim a copyrighted work after 35 years. Garriott sold the rights to Ultima to Electronic Arts in 1992, so he can reclaim them in 2027.

Garriott tried to collaborate with Electronic Arts about once a decade to revive Ultima. The company would always seem interested enough to begin negotiations, only to suspend them just as quickly. He waited, and finally, the time has come. It’s important to note that Garriott is seeking to reclaim the copyright, not the trademark, to Ultima. The trademark remains Electronic Arts‘ property, so Garriott can’t simply create a game titled Ultima. However, he can create something with a slightly different name. For example, Lord British’s Ultima appears to be his plan. Lord British’s Ultima could reclaim all the copyrights to the original work. The next challenge will be figuring out what to do with them.

Undoubtedly, now is the best time for Ultima’s revival. Larian and other developers, such as Owlcat, have proven that highly detailed CRPGs can be hugely successful. Whether this aligns with Garriott’s plans remains to be seen. Garriott may reveal further details at this year’s Dragon Con, where he will be a guest. He hopes to have a clearer picture of what regaining the rights to Ultima will entail by then.

Source: PCGamer