Re-Releases of Wing Commander, Ultima Titles Hit Steam and GOG

Twenty-five classic EA games from the 1990s and early 2000s have been re-released on Steam and GOG, including most of the Ultima series, numerous Wing Commander titles, Road Rash, Theme Hospital, and the Crusader games. Seven received more extensive restoration: Wing Commander I-IV, Wing Commander Prophecy, Privateer 2, and Road Rash. The releases are intended to make older games easier to play on modern systems, while preserving material that might otherwise have been lost. They cost no more than $5 each, and people who already own the previous GOG or EA-store versions receive the updated editions at no charge.

The restoration began when EA producer Jim Vessella explored a neglected archive of old physical media and found much of the original footage for Wing Commander III and IV. A small team and community contributors cataloged and digitized the tapes, recovering full-motion-video scenes at substantially better quality than earlier versions offered. Other improvements include 60-frame-per-second gameplay, configurable settings, and controller support, though some players have reported controller problems. For Privateer 2, the original high-quality footage was missing, but cinematics director Steve Hilliker supplied tapes from his attic and created a new color grade; GOG also helped restore Prophecy and Road Rash, whose original soundtrack EA re-licensed. The effort combined company support with substantial work by enthusiasts, illustrating how careful archival recovery can improve access to gaming history, even when the results are not flawless.