WBIE picks new boss

Samantha Ryan's road to the top just took her an additional step higher today, as the senior handlers at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group said she would take over the top position within the entertainment empire's game division, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, as its senior vice president of development and production.

Ryan (pictured above) will fill the slot left vacant by Jason Hall, who leaves to run his own independent game and film production company, according to WBIE.

But the apple won't fall far from the tree, as Hall's company, HDFilms, will have a "first-look videogame and feature film development deal" with Warner, according to the studio's Home Entertainment Group president, Kevin Tsujihara. The deal keeps Hall on the Warner Bros. lot, where HDFilms will be located.

Ryan, the current CEO of Monolith Productions (F.E.A.R., The Matrix Online), will continue in that role as she takes on Hall's responsibilities. Monolith is the development studio cofounded by Hall; it was acquired by Warner Bros. in 2004.

Tsujihara was more than polite in his well wishes to Hall, contained in a statement that outlined the change. "I want to personally thank Jason for sharing his vision in this business and literally putting Warner Bros. on the map in the game space," Tsujihara said. "His creativity, enthusiasm, and drive have brought us a long way in a very short amount of time, and I'm pleased that he will continue to remain an influential creative resource for us in this area."

For Ryan, it is the latest step in a career that has taken her from the midranks of game production to its upper echelons. With the new title and set of responsibilities, Ryan is one of the most powerful women in the game industry today.

"We have always been impressed with Samantha as an executive, a game developer, and as a person, and we anticipate this being about as seamless of a transition as one could hope for," Tsujihara said in the statement.