Richard Garriott
Creator of the Ultima games and private astronaut
- Age
- 65 yrs
- Birthday in 240 days
- Works listed
- 2
- Video game series, Video game
- Honours
- 0
- Awards & distinctions
- Profile views
- 2
- 0 followers
Richard Garriott is a British-born American game developer known as “Lord British”, who created the Ultima role-playing series and co-founded Origin Systems. In 2008 he followed his astronaut father into space, flying to the International Space Station as a paying visitor.
Biography
Background
Garriott was born in Cambridge, England, while his father Owen Garriott, later a NASA astronaut, was working there. He grew up in Houston and wrote his first game, Akalabeth, as a teenager.
Ultima
Ultima (1981) and its sequels, published by Origin Systems, which he co-founded in 1983, introduced moral choices and rich worlds. Ultima Online (1997) was a pioneering online role-playing game; he is credited with coining “MMORPG”.
Space
In October 2008 he flew on Soyuz TMA-13 to the International Space Station, the first second-generation American in space.
Explorer
He has visited the North and South Poles, dived to the deepest point of the ocean and is president of The Explorers Club.
Timeline
-
1961
Born in Cambridge, England
-
1979
Akalabeth
-
1981
Ultima
-
1983
Co-founds Origin Systems
-
1992
EA buys Origin
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1997
Ultima Online
-
2008
Flies to the ISS
-
2021
Dives to the Challenger Deep
Notable works
-
1981
Ultima Video game series
-
1997
Ultima Online Video game
Did you know?
-
1
His player character “Lord British” was famously killed during an Ultima Online beta test.
-
2
His father was a Skylab astronaut.
-
3
He owns a mansion with secret passages called Britannia Manor.
Connections
Also born on 4 July
-
Steven Sasson
Technology · Kodak engineer who built the first digital camera
1950
-
Brendan Eich
Technology · Creator of JavaScript and co-founder of Mozilla and Brave
1961
-
Nadiem Makarim
Technology · Founder of Gojek and former Indonesian education minister
1984
- Donna Dubinsky Technology · CEO of Palm who made the PalmPilot a success 1955
Frequently asked
Who is Richard Garriott?
Richard Garriott is a British-born American game developer known as “Lord British”, who created the Ultima role-playing series and co-founded Origin Systems. In 2008 he followed his astronaut father into space, flying to the International Space Station as a paying visitor.
How old is Richard Garriott?
Richard Garriott is 65 years old, born on 4 July 1961 in Cambridge, England.
Where is Richard Garriott from?
Richard Garriott was born in Cambridge, England.
What is Richard Garriott known for?
Richard Garriott is best known for Ultima series; coining “MMORPG”; flying to the International Space Station (2008).
References
- Richard Garriott — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Richard Garriott — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Richard Garriott — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. www.richardgarriott.com. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Richard Garriott (Q319269) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Richard Garriott”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Richard Garriott.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/richard-garriott
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