Samantha Ryan's remarkable climb through Monolith Productions' organization rose another rung yesterday. Ryan was named CEO of the game development company, taking over Jason Hall's roost. As reported on GameSpot yesterday, cofounder Hall left Monolith to become head of Warner Bros.' newly revamped games division.

　　Ryan is a five-year Monolith veteran and has held numerous positions within the company, including producer, COO, director of marketing, and, most recently, president.

　　Monolith is currently developing the MMORPG Matrix Online title and has numerous top sellers in its game portfolio, including No One Lives Forever and Tron 2.0.

　　Regarding the current status of game development at Monolith's 100-person studio in Kirkland, WA, Ryan told GameSpot, "Monolith has some very challenging projects in the works for release in 2004 and 2005, perhaps our most ambitious ever." When asked what she saw as the company's biggest challenge, Ryan echoed a familiar tune: "Making quality games in a timely fashion is a very difficult but satisfying task, and everyone at the company will be working our hardest to deliver solid games."

　　But Ryan wasn't downbeat. Indicating that Monolith was in growth mode, she added that Monolith intends to "continue to increase our development team size" and that "we'll be looking for more top developers to join the company. Finding great hires is always challenging."

　　Ryan told us the organization has four projects in development, although The Matrix Online is the only announced title. "We expect one other title may be announced in the next few months, and we are really looking forward to it," she said.