Who knows if this means anything just yet
It's been a while since there's been a new Ultima! Just about eight years, in fact, and it wasn't even called Ultima (it was Underworld Ascendant, which we didn't review back in the day). Such is the case with many series' that are over 40 years old, they just don't have quite the same steam as they used to. But then earlier this week, it appeared that EA (who have long owned the rights to the series) filed a couple of new trademarks for Ultima this week. And following this, it appears series' creator Richard "Lord British" Garriot is trying to get the copyright back.
As spotted by PC Gamer, Inside Games' Brian Gaar called up the Ultima creator knew anything about these trademarks, to which Garriot shared that he's been trying to bring back the series for a while now. "Every decade or so, I tried to work with EA on a revival of Ultima," Garriot said. "They always seemed interested enough to start talking, then abandoned talks just as quickly." But while this hasn't worked out for Garriott so far, in 2027, he appears to be planning to get the copyright back.
In the US, copyright law allows the creator or their heir of a copyrighted work to reclaim it after 35 years have passed. EA acquired the rights from Garriott in 1992, and if we do some quick maths, that makes 2027 a whole 35 years later. "And so, I have been waiting… finally, the time has come!"
What should be noted is that Garriott can't just make a game called Ultima, because EA will still own the trademark. For video games, copyright covers things like the source code and audiovisual elements, whereas the trademark is for things like the brand name, specific characters, things like that. Garriott seems to be somewhat prepared at least, as he said that "'Lord British's Ultima' will regain all the copyrights of my original work. What it will become, is the next challenge."
Garriott didn't share much more than that, but we will apparently be making an appearance at Dragon Con later this year where he hopes to have "more thoughts together about what that will actually mean." So, who knows! You could be playing more Ultima even if its not called that within the next few years. And if EA's trademarks mean anything, more Ultima that is called that. I'm sure you'll make the right call over what to play if it comes to that.