Lord British is likely overworked. Overseeing the daily operations of Ultima Online would certainly prove taxing to the mightiest of monarchs.

　　So it's perhaps not so surprising (especially with Ultima 9 looming on the horizon) that the announcement out of Austin, Texas, is that Origin has hired on additional hands to help Ultima creator Richard Garriott direct the future of the Ultima franchise.

　　Jeff Anderson has been hired as an executive producer at Lord British Productions, where he will "team up with to manage the dynamic and increasingly complex business that is associated with the Ultima product line," according to Origin.

　　"Richard will continue to focus on design aspects for all LB Production products while Jeff will be responsible for day-to-day production considerations and business development activities," Origin says.

　　Anderson starts his executive producer job on March 2.

　　Anderson has put in stints, most recently, at Paramount Pictures, where as executive director of interactive entertainment he oversaw the development of that studio's multimedia properties, including all the incarnations of Star Trek.

　　Before that, he was vice president of operations at Mission Studios, which developed the game Jet Fighter.