Origin Systems Announces Development of Ultima X Odyssey is the press release officially announcing development of another MMO Ultima game. There was also a press event yesterday to unveil the project, and HomeLAN Fed's Ultima X Odyssey Press Event Report is a teaser article, pointing out that the assembled scribes will be exposed to the game first hand today (so expect one of those flurries of previews that typically follows such an event). Meanwhile, a 21 MB gameplay trailer has also been released, and can be found for download on FilePlanet (registration required), Gamer's Hell, IGN, Tiscali Games (where there's also a smaller DivX version), and Worthplaying, while the first screenshots from the project have been posted on GameSpyDaily. Here's a bit from the press release:

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 22, 2003--Origin Systems, an Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS - News) development studio, today announced the development of Ultima X: Odyssey(TM) (UXO), a next generation massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG) from the award-winning Origin studio team. Powered by the latest version of the Unreal® Engine and based on the renowned Ultima(TM) single-player role-playing series, UXO will enable players to create personalized legacies in a massive new online world and will be one of the first of its kind to offer private areas on demand within the game.

"Ultima X: Odyssey takes the genre to the next level through its innovative new Odyssey Adventure System ensuring that players experience a greater sense of adventure and reward from both questing and combat," said Andy Hollis, vice president and chief operating officer of Origin Systems.

UXO's proprietary and innovative Odyssey Adventure System delivers customized quests to players automatically and enables private adventure zones, providing adventures on demand as players journey through the world. An added bonus in offering players private areas is that they can't be interrupted by "griefers" and other uninvited guests.