Posted by Bonnie Armstrong | 2014 Feb 04 22:32 -0500 GMT

Greetings Everyone!

I come to you with some exciting news!  Since its humble beginnings at Origin Systems Incorporated in 1997, through development at EA Redwood Shores and for the last 7+ years at Mythic, Ultima Online™ has been enjoyed by millions of devoted players around the world.

Beginning February 1st, 2014, Mythic Entertainment Co-Founder Rob Denton’s new studio: Broadsword Online Games (http://www.broadsword.com) will partner with EA’s Mythic Entertainment to operate, support and develop Ultima Online on EA’s behalf.  Electronic Arts will continue to provide billing and account services through its Origin™ portal.   Broadsword and Electronic Arts will work closely together to ensure a bright future for Ultima Online.  For future inquiries and support, you can contact [email protected].

The UO team will continue to work as hard as ever under our new banner.  In the immediate future, we will be putting out a publish for Valentine’s Day and a few bug fixes, along with polishing a final release of Vendor Search.   I will be putting out a list very soon of all the features we will be working on this year to get everyone’s feedback as well as some updates regarding our ongoing projects.

I know this has left everyone with a lot of questions, so I will try to answer a few right off the bat.  As always we will collect any additional questions and try to answer them as they come in.

Talk to everyone soon!

Bonnie “Mesanna” Armstrong
UO Producer
Ultima Online

Q and A

Will this transition alter the plans for Ultima Online in the near term and the future?
Yes! Both Broadsword and EA are heavily invested in the continued success of Ultima Online and our future has never looked so bright!  Customers in need of help or questions should contact [email protected]

Is Broadsword an Electronic Arts studio?
No. However, for purposes of Ultima Online, Broadsword will be operating the game on EA’s behalf to continue its success.

Will there be a change in the payment system?
Nope! Players will continue to access UO through EA’s Origin™ portal. There will be no interruption or change in the payment service. Players may notice that charges on their bank statements will still indicate a payment to Mythic or EA – – and Game Time Codes will still be available via the EA Origin™ Store.

What will happen to any information I’ve provided to EA/Mythic?
Nothing.  Since Broadsword is operating Ultima Online on EA’s behalf, all the information you provided and may provide in the future will continue to be managed according to EA’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Will there be changes to the Ultima Online development team?
Yes!  Broadsword’s additional investment into UO gives us the freedom to expand our resources for bigger projects, so again – the future has never looked so bright!

Will emails change?
Yes, they will, in the meantime you can reach out to us at [email protected]

[ Discuss This Article ]