Ultima IV Remake Rumor Gaining Traction
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Historically, Electronic Arts has taken a pretty relaxed view of the Ultima remake community, and I would expect that they will continue to do so in the future. However, it is the case that the two Flash-based remakes of Ultima 4 have received DMCA (copyright violation) notices. I've spoken with a couple of people (on the inside) about this, and the takeaway I got from that was actually about what I expected to hear.
Basically, a straight-up remake like the two Neverwinter Nights-based remakes of Ultima 4 are probably safe; I don't think Electronic Arts has any interest in going after mods like that, and in fact they really didn't come up in discussion at all.
A project like xu4 is also (probably) safe, since it still requires a copy of the original game to run. They'll probably have to cease distributing copies of the game with their non-Windows builds, and will of course not be able to offer the PC version of Ultima 4 for direct download. But really, xu4 can be thought of as a glorified (make it run under [insert OS here]) patch for the game. From a legal perspective, that should be okay.
The two Flash-based versions of the game are probably toast, however, though I'm given to believe that Electronic Arts is willing to hear an argument for why they should be left available.
What about Classic Ultima Online, some of you are wondering? That one is a tough call. From what I gather, BioWare Mythic is lobbying pretty hard to keep that project available, and I have heard that they're pretty interested in talking with its developer. It might survive, or it might not; I think that will depend on a few factors that have not yet been fully resolved.
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So why, now, after all this time, is EA finally taking actions to protect its copyright?
I suspect that I can answer in three words: Mythic's secret project.
There have been a lot of rumours circulating around including a few hints dropped by people at Mythic proper suggesting that their secret project is very likely Ultima-related, and indeed that it is related to Ultima 4 in some way. And if that's the case, it actually makes a lot of sense that EA would put some effort into making sure that the Ultima 4 property and copyright isn't being violated online.
