ORIGIN Systems, Inc.

Origin Systems was founded by Richard Garriott in 1983, after disputes with publisher Sierra On-Line over the publishing of Ultima II. He then decided that he wanted to create his own company that would publish his games.

It became well known for their Ultima and Wing Commander/Privateer game franchises. It was acquired by Electronic Arts in 1992. In 1997, the company would release Ultima Online, one of the earliest and most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing (MMORPG) games of all time.

Garriott left Origin Systems after EA canceled one of his development projects in 2000. Subsequently, the company mainly worked on supporting and expanding Ultima Online. Eventually, EA closed the studio in February 2004.

The tenth numbered title in the Ultima franchise, the MMORPG Ultima X: Odyssey, was cancelled officially on 30 June 2004, four months after Origin Systems itself was closed. Ultima Online would continue first through in-house maintenance from EA, then transferred to Mythic in 2006, then Broadsword Online Games in 2014.