Ultima Online has had a cash shop for a long time. I mean a really long time. I mean since at least the early aughts, when I remember buying my first token so I could reroll after selling off my original accounts and regretting it. That part’s not new.
What is new is that the store has been ported inside the game itself as of Publish 93, live on the production shards today. While items like expansions and game time must still be purchased through EA’s Origin Store, in-game consumables like transfer tokens and advanced characters are now for sale in-game through a new store interface with a new game currency called Sovereigns.
No need to worry that the cash shop will infest your game screen, though; it’s buried under the Help tab. So far as we can tell, nothing new has been added; it’s all the same stuff that’s been available through Origin for years. But Broadsword says it won’t stop there. “One of the main reasons we are bringing the Ultima Store in game is to provide an easier way for you to get the items you desire most,” reads the FAQ.
