Garriott "open" to working on new Ultima

While Ultima creator Richard Garriott is "open" to collaborating with EA on a new entry in his classic RPG franchise, the publisher reportedly isn't "particularly interested" in teaming up.

Speaking to IndustryGamers, the veteran designer revealed that he has plenty of ideas for where the franchise could go next.

"I hope that Ultima does survive forever, yet I also, of course, have my own very particular ideas for what Ultima can and should become over time and so we'll see if they do things quite the way I would do them... since I'm not there at the moment," he said.

When asked whether he'd consider working with EA on a possible game, he revealed that talks had in fact already taken place but so far proved fruitless.

"We would be open to that. In fact, we've had some discussions at what I'll call very high levels, but the individuals who are currently shepherding the property don't seem to be particularly interested in that, so we'll see," explained Garriott.

"Who knows? You never know what's going to happen in the future... the door is always open if they were ever interested."

The last entry in the series that Garriott worked on was Ultima IX: Ascension back in 1999.

EA has taken the series on in fits and starts since, most recently with last year's free-to-play effort Lord of Ultima.