Samurai Empire, as the name gives away, is an expansion focusing on adding aspects of Japanese culture to the game in several ways. First and foremost, a new location has been introduced in the game, the Takuno Islands, home of the Samurai Empire. Of particularly interesting note, the Islands are as old as the Ultima series itself, having been mentioned in Ultima I as the Land of the Feudal Lords. The new islands will come with 1 major city, which will be the jumping off point for new characters using the new professions, along with 2 dungeons and 3 Virtue Shrines. The new islands will also come with usual addition of a multitude of new terrain, including several types of mountains, swamps, forests, and more.

In those forests, players can travel as one of two new professions, the Samurai or the Ninja. The Samurai will be a warrior class, trained in the art of Bushido, and armed and equipped appropriately. With the Samurai comes several special abilities, including Honorable Execution - a one-shot kill attack, and Whirlwind - an ability that causes the Samurai's powers to increase as the number of enemies he's fighting increases.