Space travel has apparently had a profound effect on NCsoft Austin CEO and Ultima creator Richard "Lord British" Garriott.

After returning to Earth following a trip to the International Space Station, fulfilling a lifelong dream, Garriott has announced he is leaving NCsoft.

He wrote in an open letter on the official Tabular Rasa website, "Many of you probably wonder what my plans are, now that I have achieved the lifelong dream of going to space. Well, that unforgettable experience has sparked some new interests that I would like to devote my time and resources to. As such, I am leaving NCsoft to pursue those interests."

In October following months of rigorous training, Garriott left the atmosphere in the private Soyuz TMA-13 rocket. He was gone for ten days.

Garriott's father, Owen Garriott, is a retired astronaut.

Garriott's last work for NCsoft was the MMO, Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa. He spoke to players directly: "I am very grateful to you loyal players for sticking around through what I think we can all honestly say was a rough launch.

"I thank the development team for pushing hard to get polish, updates and new content out every month since launch...a feat that I think is unusual in MMO development. They have a lot to be proud of."

Aside from creating the Ultima series and Tabula Rasa, Garriott is also the founder of Origin Systems and Destination Games (now NCsoft Austin).

Garriott said news of his departure is "difficult" to deliver.

Asked for further comment on Garriott's note, an NCsoft rep said, "Richard’s statement pretty much says it all."

Garriott's brother Robert heads up global business development and planning for NCsoft.