Ultima is one of PC gaming's most important cultural touchstones, with Richard 'Lord British' Garriot's roleplaying series blazing trails across numerous genres. The mainline CRPGs received critical acclaim for their rich, dynamic worlds, while spinoffs like Ultima Underworld and Ultima Online were key texts in the evolution of immersive sims and MMOs. Ultima's influence still echoes through to today, with Ultima 7 being a major inspiration for Larian Studios when developing Divinity: Original Sin and Baldur's Gate 3.
Yet it's been a long time since Ultima itself was a going concern. The keys to the series have been in the pocket of Electronic Arts since 1992, when Garriott sold developer Origin Systems to the publisher. While some good Ultima games were developed afterwards—most notably Ultima Online—the series has largely been left dormant by EA, barring a couple of ill-fated experiments like ...
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