Richard Garriott says he expects to regain rights to Ultima from Electronic Arts in 2027, but no transfer has been confirmed. The claim rests on a U.S. copyright termination process that has specific eligibility, notice and timing requirements; it does not automatically return every right connected to the franchise.
What Garriott says will happen in 2027
In an interview with Jesse Petrilla, reported by Shacknews on October 8, 2026, Garriott said he expects rights to the series to return to him in 2027. He said he sold Origin Systems to EA in 1992 and notified the company in April 2026 that he intended to reclaim rights.
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Video Games Chronicle also reported that Garriott said EA acknowledged the law and that the parties are in active discussions about possible future work together. These accounts report Garriott’s position; they do not establish that rights have already reverted or independently verify the notice, its legal effect, or the complete scope of EA’s position.
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Garriott described the law as allowing an original copyright holder to take back rights after 35 years. That is shorthand, not an automatic deadline that returns an entire franchise. Under 17 U.S.C. §203, an author or certain successors may terminate qualifying copyright grants made on or after January 1, 1978, if the statutory conditions are met.
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The U.S. Copyright Office explains that the timing depends on the grant and the type of rights involved. Termination generally takes effect within a five-year window, with different calculation rules where publication rights are covered. A notice generally cannot be served until at least 25 years after the grant, and it must be served and recorded in accordance with the statute and regulations.
Requirements that affect whether termination applies
- The grant must qualify under Section 203; works made for hire and grants made by will are excluded.
- The correct author or eligible successor must exercise the right, and the timing must fall within the applicable statutory window.
- The notice must be written and signed, served on the relevant grantee or successor, and recorded with the Copyright Office before its effective date.
The Copyright Office’s statutory text and guidance set out these requirements. Garriott’s reported expectation does not by itself confirm that his particular grant and notice meet them.
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Which Ultima rights could be affected?
Section 203 concerns copyright grants. It does not, on the information publicly reported here, establish that every game, character, source-code asset, logo, name or other franchise element would return to Garriott. The underlying transaction and assignment documents, the notice itself and any Copyright Office recordation have not been made available in the cited reporting, so the precise rights and works covered remain unclear.
The statute also limits what happens to derivative works prepared under a grant before termination: they may generally continue to be used under the grant’s terms, but that exception does not grant an unrestricted right to create new derivative works afterward. The effect on any particular Ultima title or asset depends on the relevant grant and rights. The Copyright Office describes this limitation in Section 203. This copyright process should not be read as proof that trademarks or other non-copyright rights transfer as well.
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Could this lead to new Ultima games?
Garriott has discussed re-releasing earlier games or making sequels as possibilities, according to VGC’s October 8, 2026 report. No specific re-release, sequel, platform, release date or development plan has been announced in the reporting cited here. Active discussions are not the same as a confirmed agreement or product.
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