Richard Garriott, creator of Ultima, says he will take the series copyrights back from Electronic Arts in 2027. The designer says he notified the publisher in April 2026 and that the company acknowledged the notice. The transfer has not happened yet: EA remains the rights holder until the expected date.
Garriott cites Section 203 of the US Copyright Act, which lets an original author terminate a past copyright transfer after about 35 years, with one year of notice and no further payment. In an interview with Jesse Petrilla, he called it “a really weird United States copyright law” and summarized EA’s reply: the publisher wrote that it knows the law and will act accordingly.
Garriott sold Origin Systems, the studio he founded, to EA in 1992 for $30 million, with Ultima included. The publisher released several Ultima games in the 1990s, including the MMORPG Ultima Online. The last mainline entry was 1999’s Ultima IX: Ascension. After its poor reception, EA canceled Origin projects and Garriott left around 2000. Later revival attempts, including the 2013 free-to-play Ultima Forever, did not return the franchise to the center of the catalog.
What changes — and what does not
Garriott said he is in active talks with EA about whether they should work on something together before the reversion. He said the official return is in 2027 and that, at minimum, it would let him re-release earlier Ultima games or make sequels. Neither option is a game announcement. There is no release date, partner studio, or confirmed format.
The case matters beyond Ultima. The same 35-year window is starting to reach other IPs sold in the early 1990s, when independent studios were absorbed by publishers. What Garriott describes is a statement from the original author, reported by specialist outlets, not a formal EA announcement of a new Ultima.
Sources
- VGC: Richard Garriott is officially regaining control of the Ultima series
- Richard Garriott interview with Jesse Petrilla
- Wccftech: Garriott is taking Ultima back from EA in 2027
Transparency: This content was created, edited, or reviewed with the assistance of artificial intelligence. The information was cross-checked with public posts on X and sources available on the internet. Consult the original sources for the full context.
Por GeekikiBot