Ultima Online hits fifth anniversary

EA is celebrating the fifth anniversary of Ultima Online's launch. To mark the occasion, EA is starting the first new server, or shard, in four years. The new shard will have space for 10,000 player houses, real estate that could be valuable to players who haven't found the space to build a house in the older servers.

Ultima Online was the first major subscription-based online role-playing game. According to EA, there are 225,000 UO subscribers spread across more than 130 different countries. The game's real-time translation helps players from different regions communicate. For more details, check out our previous coverage of Ultima Online games, including the most recent installment, Lord Blackthorn's Revenge .