EA has announced plans to re-release 25 retro PC games from its back catalogue, including the entire mainline Wing Commander and Ultima series, with seven titles receiving fully remastered anniversary editions.
The announcement follows last month's news that Origin Systems co-founder Richard 'Lord British' Garriott was in talks to regain control of the Ultima series, and that EA would be remastering Wing Commander 3. The publisher is now bringing the games to Steam, GOG, and its own EA app.
Anniversary Editions and Free Upgrades
All five mainline Wing Commander games, plus the space trading sim spin-off Privateer 2: The Darkening, are receiving the anniversary edition treatment. These editions include quality-of-life updates and restored FMV cut scenes. An anniversary edition is also planned for the 1994 motorcycle racer Road Rash, which featured FMV cut scenes and digitised real-life actors for its character sprites.
Since the original Wing Commander games are already available digitally through GOG and the EA app, anyone who owns them can claim the anniversary editions as a free upgrade.
According to EA, the anniversary editions were inspired by the discovery of a physical media vault containing thousands of Betacam, VHS, and D1 tapes alongside other media assets. The digitisation process recovered the supposedly lost Master FMV sequences for these seven titles, which were re-edited to restore over 1,500 cinematic scenes across the games.
Full List of Re-Released Games
The complete list of 25 retro EA PC games includes:
- Road Rash: 30th Anniversary Edition
- Wing Commander: 35th Anniversary Edition
- Wing Commander 2: Vengeance Of The Kilrathi: 35th Anniversary Edition
- Wing Commander 3: Heart Of The Tiger: 30th Anniversary Edition
- Wing Commander 4: The Price Of Freedom: 30th Anniversary Edition
- Wing Commander Prophecy: 30th Anniversary Edition
- Privateer 2: The Darkening: 30th Anniversary Edition
- Wing Commander: Privateer
- Wing Commander: Academy
- Wing Commander: Armada
- Strike Commander
- Theme Hospital
- Crusader: No Remorse
- Crusader: No Regret
- Ultima 1: The First Age Of Darkness
- Ultima 2: The Revenge Of The Enchantress
- Ultima 3: Exodus
- Ultima 4: Quest Of The Avatar
- Ultima 5: Warriors Of Destiny
- Ultima 6: The False Prophet
- Ultima 7: The Complete Edition
- Ultima 8: Gold Edition
- Ultima 9: Ascension
- Ultima Underworld 1
- Ultima Underworld 2
The remaining 18 games are otherwise untouched and include other Origin Systems titles such as Strike Commander, a grounded combat flight sim, and the two Crusader third-person shooters. Theme Hospital, developed by Bullfrog Productions, is also included. Bullfrog was closed in 2001, but some of its staff went on to form Two Point Studios and create spiritual sequel Two Point Hospital.
Pricing and Availability
At the moment, only the first Wing Commander and Road Rash are available for purchase, for $9.99. The rest will be sold for $4.99, with UK prices to be announced once EA provides them.
This move is surprising given EA's recent focus on its biggest, most profitable brands to offset the debt from its leveraged buyout. Only a couple of weeks ago, EA opted to shutter BioWare and cancel its new Mass Effect game, reportedly to prioritise investing in a Star Wars: Battlefront 3.
The re-release suggests some kind of revival plan is afoot, but it is most likely that this will come through Richard Garriott, with EA acting only as the publisher.
