25 EA classics are now on Steam – with an interesting story behind it

Anyone who grew up playing Wing Commander, Road Rash or Theme Hospital can take a trip down memory lane on Steam as of November 5. EA has released 25 classic PC games in one go. The lineup is largely made up of eight entries from the space combat series Wing Commander and eleven games from the fantasy RPG franchise Ultima. Many players will also be happy to see Road Rash, a motorcycle racing game with a healthy dose of brawling. Other additions include the combat flight simulator Strike Commander, the hospital management sim Theme Hospital and the first two installments of the isometric action series Crusader.

As the screenshot below shows, seven of the games have even made it into the top 10 of Steam's Popular New Releases chart.

While most of the games have been released as largely faithful ports of their original versions, EA has gone a step further with Road Rash, Privateer 2: The Darkening and the first five mainline Wing Commander games. These titles have received extensively restored and technically improved Anniversary Editions. Here's the complete list of all 25 EA classics newly available on Steam:

• Road Rash (revamped 30th anniversary edition)
• Wing Commander (revamped 35th anniversary edition)
• Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi (revamped 35th anniversary edition)
• Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (revamped 30th anniversary edition)
• Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (revamped 30th anniversary edition)
• Wing Commander Prophecy (revamped 30th anniversary edition)
• Privateer 2: The Darkening (revamped 30th anniversary edition)
• Wing Commander: Privateer
• Wing Commander: Academy
• Wing Commander: Armada
• Strike Commander
• Theme Hospital
• Crusader: No Remorse
• Crusader: No Regret
• Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness
• Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress
• Ultima III: Exodus
• Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
• Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny
• Ultima VI: The False Prophet
• Ultima VII: The Complete Edition
• Ultima VIII Gold Edition
• Ultima IX: Ascension
• Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
• Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds

The story behind it

It all started with a discovery in March 2022. As EA producer Jim Vessella explains in a detailed behind-the-scenes report, he came across a storage room at the company's Redwood Shores location containing nearly 20,000 pieces of old media. Among the videotapes, film reels and CD-ROMs were the original master recordings for Wing Commander and Road Rash. A small team began digitizing the collection, and by April 2026, around 6,000 items and an estimated 2,500 hours of footage had been preserved.

To bring the original footage back into the games, Vessella enlisted the help of experienced modders who had already made significant improvements to the classics through their own patches. Working together, they integrated the restored video sequences, improved the controls and updated the games to run on modern hardware. According to Vessella, many of the EA employees involved worked on the project alongside their regular responsibilities. So the arrival of these 25 EA classics on Steam is largely thanks to the dedication of EA employees and resourceful fans and modders.