Re-releases of Wing Commander, Ultima titles hit Steam and GOG

EA has re-released 25 classic games from its 1990s catalogue on Steam and GOG, including several Wing Commander titles and nearly the whole Ultima series. The updates make older games more accessible and preserve material that might otherwise have been lost.

EA producer Jim Vessella traced the Wing Commander restoration to an archive of poorly catalogued media at the company’s Redwood Shores campus. The team recovered and digitised original cutscene footage, working with contractors and community contributors; the releases include higher-quality video, 60-frames-per-second gameplay and controller support. Privateer 2’s cutscenes were restored from tapes kept by its original cinematics director, and Road Rash’s original soundtrack was re-licensed. Games cost no more than $5 each, and existing owners of the older GOG or EA-store versions receive the updates free.