The new graphics engine will maintain the game's original perspective while giving it a bold new look that takes advantage of 3D-accelerated special effects. The team is busy re-drawing more than 9,000 pieces of art with which the entire map of Ultima Online -- more than 14 million tiles -- will be re-built, giving the whole game a vibrant new look.

Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn is also a full-featured expansion pack with a wide array of new content and features that will be announced later this year. The new expansion will include a playable race, and add to or enhance many of the key features of Ultima Online: epic battles versus powerful monsters, deep dangerous dungeons, player-versus-player combat, creative housing design, crafting, and much more.

BioWare Mythic has revealed the Ultima Online (UO) Call to Arms and is enlisting new, former and current players of Ultima Online to participate in the epic online festivities beginning August 5th, 2010.

The Ultima Online Call to Arms online festivities will include:

• Players creating new (non-trial) accounts will receive a “New Player Token” giving them access to 20,000 gold, a premium armor set, weapons, and increased skill gain for all venturing party members
• For former players, we’ve updated the templates for the Advanced Character tokens that making them more exciting.  As an incentive to invite someone new to Ultima Online and bring forth a new pack of “UOphiles” – current players who journey with new players will also receive escalated skill advancement
• Ultima Online: Stygian Abyss, UO’s most recent expansion, is available now for new low price. Upgrades for existing players will now cost $19.99 USD while new users will be able to buy the expansion plus 30 days of gametime for $29.99 USD.  Pruchase Stygian Abyss via digital download.
• Live Events are back: One of the long lost gameplay elements of Ultima Online is returning with the help of Event Moderators to lead in game events and drive the live story arc. Ultima Online will be re-introducing several characters from both Ultima’s and Ultima Online’s past and pressing toward re-creating the former majesty of the town Magincia during Call to Arms
• Introduction of PvP “Arena” Gameplay to Ultima Online: For the first time ever, players will have the option of battling in 1 versus 1 player versus player (PvP) combat in one of two brand new arenas