Origin Systems, Inc. (sometimes abbreviated as OSI) is a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas. It is most famous for the Ultima and Wing Commander game series.
The company was founded in 1983 by brothers Robert and Richard Garriott, their father Owen and Chuck "Chuckles" Bueche to publish the third part in Richard's Ultima series, Exodus. Chris Roberts, another Origin employee, created the original Wing Commander in 1990. In 1992, the company was acquired by Electronic Arts.
After the success of the MMORPG Ultima Online (released in 1997), EA decided that Origin would become an online-only company after the completion of Ultima IX.
Origin has been the home of legendary game designer Andy Hollis since 1993. Hollis was one of the original founders of MicroProse in 1982 and designed dozens of popular flight simulator titles including F-15 Strike Eagle and F19 Stealth Fighter. Hollis worked with co-legend Sid Meier's company, Firaxis, on 1997's Sid Meier's Gettysburg and 1998's Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Hollis retired for several years, but returned and now serves as Executive Producer and COO.
Origin mainly exists to support and expand Ultima Online and to develop further online games based on the Ultima franchise like Ultima X: Odyssey, to be released in 2004.