Indie games company ProbablyMonsters announced today that it has created a new internal development team called Hidden Grove, which is working on a new multiplayer competitive title built in Unreal Engine 5. In addition, ProbablyMonsters has also appointed a new Chief Product Officer: Adam Ryder, formerly of Nerdist, Geek & Sundry and OpTic Gaming. Rymer oversees the creation of new development teams and games.
Former Bungie director Chris Opdahl leads the Hidden Grove team, which includes several games industry veterans. The team is keeping details about the game under wraps, but Opdahl said in a statement that building a solid team is key to building a strong game. “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.”
Harold Ryan, ProbablyMonsters CEO, told GamesBeat about Hidden Grove’s mission in an interview: “We want the leadership and development teams to be excited about the game they are making and to make sure they believe in it. Creating games can be a challenging journey, and teams need to make tough design choices along the way. But one of the best ways to know we are on the right track is by keeping this important question in mind: ‘Will players love this game so much that they will want to share it with their friends?'”
Rymer’s new responsibilities include overseeing new games projects and teams. He reports directly to Ryan. Rymer said in a statement, “Our definition of product isn’t just the games here at ProbablyMonsters; it’s also the design of the teams themselves. Beyond Hidden Grove, we have unannounced development projects that I’m excited for us to share in the future.”
GamesBeat spoke with Ryan about the new changes to the company and what it’s vision for the future is. “We remain focused on fostering creativity, providing resources, and supporting talented teams to create high-quality games that audiences will love. Our mission to unite, guide, and empower developers and talented teams will continue to redefine what it means to deliver exceptional games while expanding our portfolio and nurturing new teams to make our industry and better place to make games.”