Legendary RPG Creator Is Officially Taking His Game Back From Electronic Arts
Legendary game designer Richard Garriott is utilizing a provision in United States copyright law to reclaim the rights to his seminal role-playing game franchise, Ultima, from Electronic Arts. Having sold his studio and the intellectual property to the publisher in 1992, Garriott expects to officially regain control of the series in 2027, opening up possibilities for future re-releases or sequels.
Richard Garriott, the legendary game designer who created the influential role-playing series Ultima, is poised to reclaim the rights to his intellectual property from Electronic Arts. Garriott launched the franchise in 1981, establishing a foundation that would go on to shape the landscape of computer role-playing games. A decade after its debut, he sold the series alongside his development studio, Origin Systems, to Electronic Arts for a sum of $30 million.
Following the sale, Garriott pursued other ventures, including a brief effort to launch the massively multiplayer online game Tabula Rasa, as well as a journey into space as a private astronaut. Now, decades after parting with his most famous creation, he is taking the necessary legal steps to bring the franchise back under his personal control.
In a recent interview with Jesse Petrilla, Garriott explained that he is leveraging a specific provision within United States copyright law. This legal mechanism permits the original creator of a work to reclaim their transferred copyright after a period of 35 years has elapsed, provided that the current owner is served with a formal written notice at least one year prior to the reclamation date.
Garriott initiated this process by contacting Electronic Arts in April 2026. According to the creator, the major publisher has not raised any objections to his request. Consequently, the rights to the Ultima franchise are scheduled to officially revert back to Garriott sometime in 2027.
The Ultima franchise holds a storied place in gaming history, particularly for players who frequented computer RPGs during the 1990s. Its massively multiplayer online spin-off, Ultima Online, became highly celebrated for its complex in-game economy and advanced social systems, which helped establish foundational standards for the entire MMO genre.
The online game was also the setting for one of the industry's most famous historical anecdotes: the virtual assassination of Garriott's own in-game avatar, Lord British. During a beta stress test in August 1997, a server crash inadvertently stripped the ruler of Britannia of his programmed invulnerability. A player named Rainz seized the opportunity to defeat the creator's character with a fire spell, prompting developers to summon demons that wiped out the surrounding crowd of onlookers.
With the rights returning to him next year, Garriott is beginning to contemplate the future of the franchise. He admitted in his interview that he still needs to fully determine his plans for the intellectual property once the transfer is complete. However, he noted that the acquisition would allow him to at least re-release the classic entries in the series, while also leaving the door open for potential new sequels.
Source: Polygon — original reporting
Updated