Why You Never Want to Work with Your Brother...

...lessons learned from three generations of game development.

After earning a masters degree in management from MIT in 1983, Robert Garriott formed Origin Systems, Inc. with his brother, Richard.  Origin’s goal was to develop and publish computer games, including Richard’s award winning Ultima series and the Wing Commander series. By 1990, Origin was the leading independent publisher of computer games in the During this time, Robert built international publishing relationships that accounted for 30% to 50% of Origin’s worldwide sales. The Garriotts’ success with Origin was recognized nationally in 1992 when Robert and Richard were declared Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. Magazine and E&Y Consulting.

Electronic Arts (EA) acquired Origin in 1992 to get a foot in the computer games business. Robert stayed on with EA as vice president of business development and later executive vice president of product development. During his tenure with EA, Robert evaluated strategic investment opportunities, led EA’s acquisition of Bullfrog Software, and directed EA’s product development activities worldwide. Robert further developed his global industry contacts while growing EA’s European studios and establishing a game development and publishing organization for EA in Japan.

Robert left EA in 1995 to pursue his personal investment and development interests. In 2000, he and his brother Richard formed a new game development company, Destination Games. In 2001 the company was purchased by NCsoft, where Robert serves as President and CEO of NCsoft North America.