In some respects, today feels like a culmination of the last three years of effort I’ve put into the Ultima Codex (and Ultima Aiera before it), and I’m sure it must feel like a victorious end to a long, hard slog for the team at Mythic. It was about three years ago (you can date it, somewhat, by this post) that Paul Barnett — then the creative director for Mythic Entertainment (or BioWare Mythic, or maybe EA Mythic; the studio has undergone a few name changes in recent years) — contacted me about a little project he and a small team were working on. Even then, so early in the project’s development, he was interested in getting input about the planned game from members of the Ultima fandom, the people who (as he put it) “still gave a damn about Ultima.”

Now, three years later, that little project — after a tumultuous development that nearly saw the whole thing cancelled at least twice — has been released to the global audience. Or a global audience, at least; Ultima Forever should be available worldwide in the iOS App Store as of today.

Those of you who downloaded the game using an “out of region” account should be able to flip your regional settings and iOS account back to your usual settings and have the game work, as well. (I’m admittedly a tad unclear on the exact process there.)

At any rate, this is a day for some celebration; the Ultima Codex will be releasing a couple pieces of neat content today, and one can reasonably expect that Mythic may opt to do the same on either the game’s official forums or its Facebook page. Stay tuned! And, if you’re an iOS user, check your local App Store for Ultima Forever, and return to Britannia once more.

Note: The game may not be available in all worldwide App Store portals just yet. It is certainly available in the United States App Store, and Sergorn Dragon found it in the France App Store. The official release date is, in fact, today, but the actual availability of the game in all regions depends on Apple. So, if you don’t see it in your region’s App Store just yet, keep checking back at regular intervals.