Ultimate released a series of successful games for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, MSX and Commodore 64 computers from 1983 until 1987.

Ultimate are perhaps best remembered for the big-selling titles Jetpac and Sabre Wulf, each of which sold over 300,000 copies in 1983 and 1984 respectively, and their groundbreaking series of isometric arcade adventures using a technique termed Filmation.

[6] By the time of the label's last use in 1988 on a retrospective compilation, Ultimate had evolved into Rare and moved on to developing titles for Nintendo consoles.

[1][3] Other members of the Stamper family were also involved in the early running and support of the company, which was initially located in a house next to the family-run newsagent.

Ashby released four arcade games: Blue Print for Bally-Midway, and Grasspin, Dingo and Saturn for Jaleco.

[12] Jetpac was a huge commercial success selling more than 300,000 copies[13] providing the fledgling company with a turnover in excess of £1 million.

[28] Shortly before the US Gold buyout, the name of another company, "Rare Limited", began appearing on the credits of Ultimate releases.

This function was originally made as an experimental side project by Rare and was deactivated in the final version, but has since been unlocked through fan-made patches.

On 8 December 2006 and 16 January 2007 respectively, Rare's owners Microsoft Corporation filed US and EU trademark claims on the Ultimate Play the Game name and logo.

Due to the small number of staff employed at Ultimate in the early days, the company had no time to speak to the press or attend trade events.

They were known for their positive attitude to fans, always replying to letters and responding to requests for merchandise by sending posters, sweatshirts and caps free of charge.

[23] Retro Gamer has suggested that besides the quality of the games, Ultimate's popularity arose from a combination of "superb presentation" as well as the company's "air of mystique" giving it a "secretive yet cool vibe".

Only three of these (Sabre Wulf, Underwurlde and Nightshade) were released on the other major platform of the time, the Commodore 64, however a series of C64-exclusive titles were published by Ultimate:[10] The Staff of Karnath, Entombed, Blackwyche and Dragon Skulle all concern the adventures of Sir Arthur Pendragon.

Whereas most games of the time would list those responsible on the cassette inlay cards or even on the front of the box (one notable example, Football Manager, even going as far as to feature a picture of author Kevin Toms on the front of the box), no Ultimate title ever mentioned any names at all, and the authorship of some of them remains unclear.

[17] The Stampers retained the major creative roles until the purchase by US Gold, who brought in their own programming teams to create Martianoids and Bubbler.

The conversions of existing Spectrum games Sabre Wulf, Underwurlde and Nightshade were handled by Firebird, who hired Mr Micro, Softstone, and PSI, respectively, to develop the titles.

[40] Imhotep was submitted to Ultimate in a virtually complete form by author Manuel Caballero, who had previously written Batty Builders and Firefleet.

[41] Ultimate did not make any announcements regarding the authorship of the other Commodore games, but an article by Martyn Carroll[42] revealed how Frank Gasking of "Games that weren't 64" managed to identify the creators as Dave and Robert (Bob) Thomas based on a message that appears on the final screen of Dragon Skulle.

In an interview with the brothers in Retro Gamer magazine, they revealed they also authored Outlaws, in just six weeks, so Ultimate would have something for the Commodore 64 for Christmas.