Lord British May Bypass EA To Revive Legendary Ultima Franchise In 2027

Remember Ultima? Of course you do. (And yes, I'm that Unc.) So anyway, after decades locked in copyright hell, a unique loophole in US law may allow game designer Richard Garriott to reclaim the rights to the Ultima series, the groundbreaking RPG he sold to Electronic Arts almost 35 years ago. But there are caveats.

Garriott, famously known to fans as "Lord British," recently revealed his intentions to take back control of the franchise as soon as 2027. A major reason for this is since EA acquired Garriott’s studio, Origin Systems, for $30 million in 1992, the publisher has largely left the franchise dormant, with the last mainline entry releasing back in 1999. Garriott noted that every decade or so, he attempted to collaborate with EA on an Ultima revival, but the mega-publisher would repeatedly abandon the talks.

Rather than buying the franchise back with his own fortune, Garriott is leveraging a specific provision in US copyright law that allows original creators to claw back the rights to their intellectual property 35 years after transferring them. Because the sale took place in 1992, the clock technically runs out next year. "And so, I have been waiting… finally, the time has come!" Garriott exclaimed.

However, this creates a weird structural divide between copyright and trademark. While the 35-year rule will allow Garriott to reclaim the underlying copyrights to his original work, including the specific story elements, design philosophy, and code, EA will retain the Ultima trademark. This means Garriott can legally build a successor to his classic games, but he cannot actually call it Ultima. He has floated the idea of calling it Lord British's Ultima, but frankly it doesn't have the same flow off the tongue as the OG.

Compounding the situation, some reports spotted new Ultima trademarks filed by EA. While the publisher has not announced any active projects, the filings prove that EA is fiercely guarding the brand. 

So all we can do right now is wait. Garriott has kept specific details close to his chest for now, but he has urged eager fans to look out for his upcoming appearance at Dragon Con in Atlanta, where he promises to share more concrete thoughts on what a fractured, independent future for the legendary RPG series will look like.