REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 24, 2006--The
legendary kingdom of Britannia--and the online world that helped forge
PC gaming's fastest growing genre--is about to be reborn. Electronic
Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn
(working title), an exciting new upgrade to the genre-defining Ultima
Online™. Much more than an expansion, Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn
is a complete make-over of the online world with a new graphics
engine, a state-of-the-art user interface and enough new content for
even the most seasoned players. Additionally, nine years of content
and features will be preserved and enhanced with all-new graphics,
making Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn one of the largest and deepest
massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) in
existence.
"It's been nine years since Ultima Online first proved that online
games could be very popular," said EA Mythic General Manager, Mark
Jacobs. "And now, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the UO
team and the support of the players over the years, a new day is
dawning for this groundbreaking game."
The new graphics engine will maintain the game's original
perspective while giving it a bold new look that takes advantage of
3D-accelerated special effects. The team is busy re-drawing more than
9,000 pieces of art with which the entire map of Ultima Online -- more
than 14 million tiles -- will be re-built, giving the whole game a
vibrant new look.
Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn is also a full-featured expansion
pack with a wide array of new content and features that will be
announced later this year. The new expansion will include a playable
race, and add to or enhance many of the key features of Ultima Online:
epic battles versus powerful monsters, deep dangerous dungeons,
player-versus-player combat, creative housing design, crafting, and
much more.
EA Mythic, formerly Mythic Entertainment, and the Ultima Online
team are working together to bring about one of the most ambitious
upgrades of any operating MMORPG. Created in such a way that current
players who choose not to upgrade will be able to play without
interruption, Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn will ship in 2007 for PC.
Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn has not yet been rated by the ESRB.
For more information about Ultima Online, please visit www.uo.com. New
art assets for Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn can be found at
www.info.ea.com.
About Ultima Online
Ultima Online first launched in September, 1997 and was the first
MMORPG to reach the 100,000 subscriber base, far exceeding that of any
game that went before it. Since then, it has added seven expansion
packs and dozens of free content updates, making it one of the
deepest, largest MMORPGs ever created. It is listed in the Guinness
Book of World Records as the longest continuously running MMORPG in
history.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City,
California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software
company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and
distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems,
personal computers, mobile phones and the Internet. Electronic Arts
markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA
SPORTS BIG™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2006, EA posted revenue of
$2.95 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million
copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More
information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be
found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG, POGO, Ultima and
Ultima Online are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic
Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are
the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Electronic Arts
Tammy Schachter, 650-628-7223 (Corporate Communications)
tschachter@ea.com
or
EA Mythic
Steve Perkins, 703-934-0446
press@mythicentertainment.com
SOURCE: Electronic Arts