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Origin Adds to Management Team

Today Origin Systems announced several new additions to its management team. Flush with the success of Ultima Online, Origin has decided to shift its focus to online-only games.

Perhaps the most prominent addition is that of Alan Pavlish, most recently the head of Interplay's Tantrum action division. Pavlish, a 17-year industry veteran responsible for such titles as Wasteland, Descent 1, 2, and 3, and Stonekeep, will serve as an executive producer at Origin. However, Origin did not disclose which projects Pavlish will oversee.

Jessica Mulligan, the founder and former executive of Engage Games Online and also the driving force behind AOL's first graphics-based online RPG, was named Origin's new director of external relations for online service.

Rounding out the new appointments is Jason Bell. Bell, soon to be a producer and lead for the Ultima Online Live development team, was previously an executive producer for Aliens Online at Kesmai. He has also worked on other titles such as Multiplayer Battletech, Air Warrior III, and Legends of Kesmai.

With these new additions, it appears Origin is intent on solidifying its hold on the online gaming market, and it's not hard to see why. The company claims more than 100,000 subscribers who each pay $9.95 a month to play Ultima Online, its flagship online-only product. And with the next Wing Commander, another Origin trademark, rumored to be in consideration for online-only play, these additions might just be the prelude to a new type of Kilrathi invasion.