Ultima Franchise Producer’s Letter – August 2012

The Franchise Producer’s Letter……If you would like to read it the way it was originally written, please see the UO Herald.

Jeff Skalski, the Ultima Franchise Producer, talked about several topics relating to Ultima Forever and Ultima Online within the letter, and in the spirit of helping the community in understanding what’s being said about UO, I decided to break the sentences out into the topics they cover. Where a sentence was clearly focused on one game, even if it mentioned another game within the sentence, I placed that sentence within its relevant section. Where a sentence was discussing both games on equal or semi-equal terms, I placed that sentence within the Ultima, Ultima Forever, and Ultima Online section.

Ultima Online

• Hail Fellow UO Adventurers
• I’m sure for others though, questions were raised. Why is BioWare not putting more development effort into UO instead of wasting time on U4E?
• Well, let me do my best to explain and assure you UO has exciting things to come with a passionate team behind it.
• Mesanna and her crew of henchmen are driving towards some fun things for the upcoming 15 year anniversary. We have some new merchandise anniversary items in the works. See below for a sneak peek. Shhhhh… don’t tell marketing! 😉

Ultima, Ultmia Forever and Ultima Online

• I wanted to take a few minutes, clear up some things I’ve been reading, and post my thoughts on Ultima, UO and our recently announced new title, Ultima Forever.
• I’m sure for many it was exciting to see we have more things in store for Ultima beyond just rereleasing the classics through GoG, setting up a history site for all things Ultima, and continuing to support UO as it hits a major milestone next month –its 15th anniversary.
• In fact, they are two very different projects run by two different teams.
• This doesn’t mean either title distracts attention from the other.
• Lastly, for those interested in seeing a UO2. No surprise announcements on that today, but what I will say by everyone continuing to support UO and Ultima Forever this is the kind of ammunition I need to convince the high level execs that the market is ready for more Ultima. So keep playing UO, follow us on Facebook, and show support for all things Ultima.

Ultima Forever

• Why are they doing U4E instead of UO2?
• First, it’s important to know that U4E was never built to compete with UO.
• We have a phrase here in the office that every generation deserves an Ultima game. It’s been far too long, and when we looked at the gaming landscape of today, and more importantly tomorrow, we birthed the concept behind Ultima Forever — an online RPG adventure game you play with friends as you quest to save Britannia and uphold the eight virtues to prove your Avatarhood. Just as the classic Ultima titles of the past differ from UO, so is the same for U4E.
• If you get a chance, sign up for U4E at ultimaforever.com.