Germany-based
BattleForge developer EA Phenomic's latest project is
Lord of Ultima, a browser-based title reviving the almost 30-year-old
Ultima RPG franchise as an online strategy game.
In
Lord of Ultima, players build and manage a unique city in a fantasy setting, interacting with other online gamers doing the same. The mechanics and presentation are similar to Blue Byte Software's
The Settlers real-time strategy series, though it takes place in the
Ultima universe. The game is currently
available to play for free -- albeit as a limited closed beta.
Originally debuted in 1981 and created by Richard "Lord British" Garriott, the
Ultima series has seen dozens of releases on PC, home consoles, and handhelds, and a popular online spin-off in the form of
Ultima Online.
UO was one of the first successful MMORPGs before the genre took off with
World of Warcraft, boasting a 250,000+ subscriber base at its peak.
Electronic Arts planned at least two follow-ups to
Ultima Online,
Ultima Worlds Online: Origin and
Ultima X: Odyssey, but terminated both projects as the publisher laid off and eventually shuttered developer Origin Systems. The company, however, released
Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn, a free client with updated graphics and a new interface in 2007.
Lord of Ultima's developer EA Phenomic, which was purchased by Electronic Arts in 2006 when it was named Phenomic Game Development, most recently released
BattleForge last year, a free-to-play and card-based strategy PC game with microtransactions. Before the acquisition, the studio was best known for its
SpellForce strategy and RPG series.
Neither Electronic Arts or EA Phenomic have announced details on
Lord of Ultima's full release or planned pricing models.
