Another Ultima game bites the dust
Ultima Forever ends.
EA is turning off the lights at Ultima Forever, the multiplayer role-playing game for iOS devices.
Its online services will shut down on 29th August 2014 at 4pm UK time.
EA served notice on the Ultima Forever forum. EA shut down developer Mythic in May, so the game's closure doesn't come as much surprise.
"This was a very difficult decision for us to make," reads the post. "We've seen the game through ups and downs, and hope that you've enjoyed playing it every bit as much as we had making it! Through it all, it's been players like you who've made it all worthwhile."
Ultima Forever was pitched as the spiritual successor to Ultima 4, but it was a free download with in-app purchases and, well, you've heard this story before. "Ultima's character has been corrupted and trammelled into a grotesque parody of itself in Ultima Forever," we wrote in our Ultima Forever review. "This game is a desecration."
During Ultima Forever's final month rewards are boosted, equipment degradation are disabled, the Gold key drop rate is increased and the in-game store no longer sells premium currency.
It's tough times for Ultima at the moment.
In May 2014 EA shut down Lord of Ultima, which launched in 2010 as a free-to-play browser game about building castles and expanding empires. That game's developer, EA Phenomic, shut down in the summer of 2013.
But there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Veteran Ultima developer Paul Neurath is working on a new game called Underworld Ascension, which follows 1992 title Ultima Underworld but doesn't have the Ultima license. Bertie spoke with Neurath about his plans earlier this week.
And Ultima Online is still running, courtesy of developer Broadsword.
