Now that his feet are once again planted firmly back on Terra Firma, video game legend Richard Garriott used an address to the players of Tabula Rasa to announce that he is leaving NCsoft.

Garriott cited a desire to simply devote time and resources to other projects in a move that appears very sudden to those outside of the company. What this means, if anything,  for the future of RGTR (his name accounts for the RG in the acronym) remains unclear. MMORPG.com will contiinute to follow this story as it develops.

Fellow Soldiers of the AFS,

I am happy to finally be able to write the players and community of Tabula Rasa. We've been on quite a journey together. First in creating a game unlike any other on the MMO market, then growing a loyal community and finally launching the game and its players into space with Operation Immortality. It has been quite an unforgettable journey, one that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

I am very grateful to you loyal players for sticking around through what I think we can all honestly say was a rough launch. I thank the development team for pushing hard to get polish, updates and new content out every month since launch...a feat that I think is unusual in MMO development. They have a lot to be proud of.

Many of you probably wonder what my plans are, now that I have achieved the lifelong dream of going to space. Well, that unforgettable experience has sparked some new interests that I would like to devote my time and resources to. As such, I am leaving NCsoft to pursue those interests.

This news is difficult for me to deliver. I am honored to have worked with the team I've had and I'm grateful to the community who makes this game so unique and fun.

Thank you and farewell.

Read Richard Garriott's Announcement