MMORPG.com's Garrett Fuller recently caught up with Ultima Online Development Manager Calvin Crowner to talk about the game's 12 year anniversary and the Stygian Abyss expansion.

MMORPG.com:

MMOs have come and gone, what keeps Ultima Online still alive after 12 years of game play?

Kelvin Crowner:

I wish I could come up with a blanket answer for this question. It's a combination of things. Part of it is a community that is quite set on what to expect from the social elements, role-playing, and the simple hack and slash gameplay that Ultima Online offers. There are people that have their short-term forays into other games, and then find that for all the pretty graphics, the fundamental "game" under the graphics lacks what UO has to offer. Also, simply put, Ultima has been around so long that a lot of the things the game has iterated on; made mistakes on; and recovered from; has made it a stronger gameplay experience in the long run. Players are drawn to that.

Read 12 Years and The Stygian Abyss