 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Origin Systems" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 "We Create Worlds" Company logo during their final years | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | March 4, 1983; 42 years ago (1983-03-04) inHouston, Texas, U.S. |
| Founders | |
| Defunct | February 2004; 22 years ago (2004-02) |
| Fate | Acquired byElectronic Arts, anddissolved |
| Successor | Destination Games |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Products | Ultima series Wing Commander series Crusader series Strike Commander System Shock Wings of Glory |
| Parent | Electronic Arts (1992–2004) |
| Website | www.origin.ea.com at theWayback Machine (archived March 30, 1997) |
Origin Systems, Inc. was an Americanvideo game developer based inAustin, Texas. It was founded on March 3, 1983, byRichard Garriott and his brotherRobert. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres of video games, such as theUltima andWing Commander series. The company was purchased byElectronic Arts in 1992.
BrothersRichard andRobert Garriott, their astronaut-engineer fatherOwen, and programmerChuck Bueche founded Origin Systems in 1983 because of the trouble they had collecting money owed to Richard for his games released by other companies.[1][2] Origin was initially based in the Garriotts' garage inHouston, Texas.[3] The company's first game wasUltima III: Exodus; because of Ultima's established reputation and the fact that the company's games were released on computers and not consoles, Origin survived thevideo-game crash of 1983 which affected console game developers in North America. It published many non-Ultima games, and Richard Garriott claimed that he received the same royalty rate as other developers.[4]
By 1988, Origin had 15 developers inAustin, Texas, and another 35 employees in New Hampshire.[4] By 1989 they had 50 employees between their New Hampshire and Texas offices.[5] By 1992, Origin Systems had sold more than1.5 million software units worldwide.[6]
In September 1992,Electronic Artsacquired the company[7][8] for $35 million in stock, despite a dispute between the two companies over EA's 1987 gameDeathlord. Origin, with about $13 million in annual revenue, stated that it had considered anIPO before agreeing to the deal.[9]
By 1996, Origin had expanded to more than 300 employees, most of whom were divided among small, largely autonomous development teams.[10] In 1997, Origin released one of the earliest graphicalMMORPGs,Ultima Online. After this title, Electronic Arts decided that Origin would become an online-only company after the completion ofUltima IX: Ascension in 1999. However, within a year's time, in part due toUltima IX's poor reception,[11] EA canceled all of Origin's new development projects, includingUltima Online 2,Privateer Online, andHarry Potter Online. Richard Garriott left Origin shortly after and foundedDestination Games in 2000.
In later years, Origin mainly existed to support and expandUltima Online and to develop further online games based on theUltima franchise such asUltima X: Odyssey, originally to be released in 2004 but later canceled. In February 2004, the studio was disbanded by Electronic Arts. TheLongbow series of simulation games was developed at Origin and published under theJane's Combat Simulations brand of Electronic Arts. A follow-on project,Jane's A-10, was under development when the project was canceled in late 1998 and the team moved to other projects.
Origin employed many young game developers over its tenure who have since gone on to leading roles in numerous game development companies, especially in Austin.
Among its prominent employees were (alphabetically by surname):
Origin Systems would sell more than 1.5 million units worldwide by 1992.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
