Halo and Destiny veteran Chris Opdahl joins ProbablyMonsters to lead new studio

ProbablyMonsters, the studio established by former Bungie CEO Harold Ryan in 2019, has hired a new chief product officer and opened a new internal studio called Hidden Grove.

The company's new chief product officer is Adam Rymer, a veteran media and entertainment executive that previously worked at Legendary Digital Networks, where he had a hand in guiding the development of Nerdist and Geek & Sundry.

Rymer, who also had a stint as a senior executive at Universal Pictures, has been tasked with helping ProbablyMonsters create opportunities for success by helping its development teams build "original interactive experiences that deeply connect with their audiences."

Hidden Grove, a new internal studio that's working on a competitive multiplayer project, is one of those teams. The fledgling studio was founded by former Bungie creative director Chris Opdahl, who worked on Destiny, Destiny 2, Halo Reach (as lead campaign and AI designer), and Halo 3 (mission designer) during his time at the studio.

Hidden Grove recruits former Bungie developers

Opdahl will lead Hidden Grove as general manager and is joined at the studio by fellow Bungie alums Raylene Deck and Grant Mackay, who will both serve as design directors.

ProbablyMonsters said the wider Hidden Grove leadership team comprises "world-building, engineering, and production veterans" with experience working on major franchises like Mass Effect, Dungeons & Dragons, and more.

"At Hidden Grove, it's not just about developing something different in the field of competitive multiplayer games—it's about doing it better as a team," said Opdahl. "We believe that great games start with great teams, and we’re building a creative atmosphere where artists, engineers, and creators can come together and thrive."

ProbablyMonsters secured $250 million to bolster its development studios in April 2022 and currently has multiple projects simmering away, including a "next-gen co-op RPG" that's in production at Battle Barge. Several other unannounced projects are also coalescing behind the scenes.