MMORPG gamers might recall that last summer, Ultima Online creator Richard Garriott grabbed headlines a bit by accident when he casually told a player on Twitter that he’s been trying to buy back the game and thought he had a chance. Garriott, of course, sold Origin to EA in the ’90s, even before UO came out, and exited the company a few years later after EA canceled Ultima Online 2.
“I believe I will get it back ‘soon,'” he tweeted in response to the players begging him to do it. “I have reason to be honestly hopeful.”
It hasn’t happened yet, and indeed, we just covered earlier this week EA/Broadsword’s roadmap for the game for the next half year, so UO itself marches on as it was.
But Garriott has resumed teasing the idea of something new in the franchise that he no longer owns: As GamesRadar first noticed, Garriott replied to a gamer who asked him whether he’d ever considered doing an Ultima tabletop RPG.
“Yes!” Garriott tweeted. “But… not sure my plan would be commercially successful. May be worth finding out.”
Personally, I’d rather see a card game than a TTRPG, if only because I think adapting the complexity and contradictions of the virtue system would play better in shorter stints. But while we’re wishing for things, how about a new UO2 or revival of Ultima X Odyssey instead?
Of course, it’s all pretty moot since EA is still sitting on the IP anyway, and as we must point out, Garriott remains a controversial figure in the MMORPG genre following the mishandling of Shroud of the Avatar and a failed blockchain MMO with his name on it.
Yes! But… not sure my plan would be commercially successful. May be worth finding out. https://t.co/olSrFhxUix
— Richard Garriott (@RichardGarriott) January 21, 2025
