Origin Systems

USA · Founded 1983 · Developer / Publisher

Origin Systems created the Ultima series that defined the CRPG, the Wing Commander series that defined space combat sims, and Ultima Online — one of the first major massively multiplayer games.

Richard Garriott and his brother Robert founded Origin Systems in Austin, Texas in 1983, bringing with them the Ultima series that Richard had been developing since his high school days as "Lord British." Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (1985) was a landmark design achievement — the first RPG to abandon the kill-the-villain premise in favour of a moral self-improvement quest, introducing a virtue system that influenced game design philosophy for decades. Ultima VII: The Black Gate (1992) presented an open world of unprecedented interactivity, with characters following daily schedules, edible food, and a coherent economy. Chris Roberts joined Origin in the late 1980s and designed Wing Commander (1990), a space combat game with cinematic cutscenes, voiced characters, and branching mission trees that set a new standard for production values in PC gaming. Warren Spector, who worked at Origin before founding Ion Storm, contributed to the Ultima Underworld series. Ultima Online (1997) was one of the first commercially successful MMORPGs, peaking at over 250,000 subscribers. Electronic Arts acquired Origin in 1992 and closed it in 2004.