Mythic to work on Ultima Online

By Tom Bramwell Published 4 July, 2006

Announcement promised soon.

Just weeks after EA announced its acquisition of MMO developer Mythic, it's been revealed that the studio will be helping out with Ultima Online.

A statement on the UO website reads: "These are exciting days for MMORPG fans here at EA. With the acquisition of Mythic, the UO team will be working with the creative folks who brought us Dark Age of Camelot and are hard at work on the spectacular-looking Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning."

EA and Mythic still have a lot to talk about, apparently, and "It will take some time to review and finalise our plans.

"Because we need to take that time, we are postponing the announcement that we were going to make this week. The in-game fiction cycle will take a break for a bit and will return soon."

So just how much involvement will the Mythic lot have? And could it be that a whole new UO game is on the way? Those questions have yet to be answered, but we'll keep you posted...

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About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (19) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • chupachups #1 6 years ago

    (jaw drops)

    I thought EA had dropped Ultima down the back of the same radiator as the Sierra games.
    Edited by chupachups at 04/07/06 @ 16:29

  • Laserbream #2 6 years ago

    So...the same process that consumed Origin and turned it into a shadow of its former self is now to be applied to Mythic.

    I'm no good at writing eulogies, so I'll shut up now.

  • WrongShui #3 6 years ago

    I miss Wing Commander and Crusader.

  • Drakron #4 6 years ago

    Just ... let ... it ... die ... EA ... just ... let ... it ... die ...

  • chupachups #5 6 years ago

    --So...the same process that consumed Origin and turned it into a shadow of its former self is now to be applied to Mythic. --

    ...well, that's the more pessimistic way of looking at it. :(


    --Just ... let ... it ... die ... EA ... just ... let ... it ... die ...--

    Noo... Ultima was great.
    Edited by chupachups at 04/07/06 @ 16:40

  • Laserbream #6 6 years ago

    Where EA is concerned, pessimism equates to common sense.

  • Drakron #7 6 years ago

    Ultima was great ... until IX.

    Ultima is dead, EA contines to try to rape Ultima corpse with UO as it tries to relive the time they ruled MMORPGs (UO before EQ come out), UO is part what killed Ultima and ultimate killed Origin.


  • rauper Verified Managing Director, Eurogamer Network #8 6 years ago

    UO = best game ever

  • rauper Verified Managing Director, Eurogamer Network #9 6 years ago

    (well, about 7 years ago anyway)

  • smelly #10 6 years ago

    Without lord british on board, it'll be poo

  • Ryuken #11 6 years ago

    lord british was on board for the sluggish Ultima IX also, so it doesn't really matter.

    A great singleplayer Ultima X would be awesome but it won't come from EA nor Mythic.

  • thefilthandthefury #12 6 years ago

    I loved UO when it first came out. The first MMO I'd played so I'll always remember it fondly.

  • smelly #13 6 years ago

    I thought U9 was great! It was well ahead of it's time too.

    Obviously not as in depth as U7, but considering what they achieved with it in 3d and stuff, hardly suprising!

  • phl0w #14 6 years ago

    NOOOOOOO!!!
    My precious time... my life!!!

    "UO=Best Game Ever"
    I second that.

  • Perry #15 6 years ago

    Ultima games are purely responsible for me getting into computer games. I still remember Ultima III very fondly.

    If I could get my hands on Ultima VII I'd be a happy bunny, and no, I'm not buying the compilation, I only want VII

  • PearOfAnguish #16 6 years ago

    Someone really needs to do a sequel to Ultima. There should be a law against companies like EA holding onto the rights for franchises and then doing nothing with them.

    "If I could get my hands on Ultima VII I'd be a happy bunny, and no, I'm not buying the compilation, I only want VII"

    [link url=http://www.abandonware-france.org/ltf-jeu.php3?id=58
    ]http://www.abandonware-france.org/ltf-je...[/link]

    (hint: 'telecharger' is French for download)

  • Perry #17 6 years ago

    PearOfAnguish, if that works when i get home, I will be forever grateful.

    Many, many thanks for that!!!!

  • Collie #18 6 years ago

    You may want Dosbox or a special Win XP patch to get Ultima7 working. I really love U7, but sadly my TFT monitor doesn't like low-res so that's another classic I no longer play. Still I've completed played it dozens of times in the past 12 years so it's no biggy for me. Great, great, game though. Also play the second part. It's a bit more Japanese RPG-esque with it's linear story driven gameplay but immense in atmosphere. Ultima 8 was a big let down after U7. Ultima 9 was a pile of poo (despite looking really good originally until it finally was released as a buggy unfinished mess), and Ultima Online was something that deserved a successful sequel, but sadly it wasn't to be. It's amazing UO is still going at all. I wonder how long it'll be before UO is discontinued. Surely there aren't many years left in the old horse.

  • phl0w #19 6 years ago

    "Surely there aren't many years left in the old horse."

    I wouldn't say that. Fact is, UO still offers the most basic mechanis/tools/world to realise all your RP-visions without much of an effort. It's still my prefered enviroment to let out any my roleplaying needs (besides P'n'P, that is).

    I'm a bit worried, though, they might jump the current MMORPG bandwagon that is "graphics over fundamentals" to try to get some of WoW/DAoC's shallow gamers to convert.
    UO is an MMORPG at it's best, namely basic mechanics and functional graphics offer a simple world, which leaves everything to phantasy and imagination, hence creating a complex experience no "non-P'n'P RPG" (namely WoW/DAoC/EQ) will ever achieve, NWN being the exception to the rule of course!

    I say bring back UO with enhanced isometric graphics a la BG2 and make every UO gamer wet their pants over it.