EA files Ultima trademarks for downloadable and online use

Electronic Arts registered new trademarks for the Ultima name last week, covering downloadable PC games (Class 009) and online interactive services (Class 041).

The filings expand earlier coverage that listed Ultima under Class 028, a category linked to physical game media. Ultima Online remains covered separately and EA continues to operate its servers.

EA has not announced plans to develop a new single-player Ultima game. The last numbered mainline entry, Ultima IX, was released in 1999.

Trademark renewals and class updates are common as companies adapt intellectual-property records for digital distribution. The new registrations provide legal protection for the franchise in current digital and online categories.

Creator Richard Garriott responded to a fan on social media last month with the message: “I hope to provide that dream.” Garriott revealed a Web3-based MMO, Iron & Magic, in 2022; that project has since gone quiet. He released Shroud of the Avatar in 2018 after a crowdfunding campaign.

Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke previously listed Ultima among franchises he would consider working on if his studio could not adapt Dungeons & Dragons. Those comments predate the recent filings and do not indicate any licensing agreement.

The new trademark classes update Ultima’s legal protections but do not constitute a development announcement.