Development
Although scheduled to be released sometime in 2004, EA cancelled the project on June 30, 2004, after the closure of Origin and the layoffs of several employees. Despite being a multiplayer game, UXO was being marketed as a continuation of the Ultima series that was last visited with Ultima IX rather than as a sequel or replacement to the still commercially successful Ultima Online. Although the "X" in the title is a Roman numeral 10 (in keeping with its place in the sequence of numbered Ultima games), it is sometimes pronounced as the letter "X" instead of "ten."
Ultima X: Odyssey was the first Ultima game developed after series creator Richard Garriott left Origin, and is the second Ultima-based MMORPG to be cancelled (Ultima Worlds Online: Origin — Ultima Online 2 — was cancelled in 2001). This followed in the wake of other MMORPG cancellations in 2004, including True Fantasy Live Online, Mythica, and Warhammer Online (which was revived in 2005).
The game was cancelled with a letter to fans on June 30, 2004:
- Dear Ultima X: Odyssey community members, As of today, development on Ultima X: Odyssey has ended. We feel that Ultima Online is where we need to focus our online efforts and most of my team will be moving to the UO expansion pack, the UO live team, and an unannounced Ultima Online project. Development on UO will be greatly enhanced as we consolidate our resources behind that franchise. This isn't an easy decision but it’s the right move for the future of all things Ultima, including the community and the team. We look forward to sharing our plans for the future of Ultima Online very soon. I would like to thank all of the Ultima X: Odyssey supporters who have been with us from the beginning. I hope you will continue to support the Ultima franchise and the development team as they transition to new projects. Thank you, David "InQWis" Yee Producer, Ultima X: Odyssey
Despite the letter, no plans of the future were ever shared or officially released for Ultima Online. Expansion packs were released at a later date; however, they made no mention of whether they were actually part of the future plans involved in the decision to cancel Ultima X.
Read more about this topic: Ultima X: Odyssey
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