Sony Online Entertainment Founder John Smedley Steps Down as Daybreak CEO - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 23 July 2015 / 4,279 Views
John Smedley, who founded Daybreak (formerly known as Sony Online Entertainment), is now stepping down as its president and CEO. He plans on returning to the company in the future to take on a different role.
"I can confirm that John Smedley will be taking some time off from the company for the near-term and transitioning to a different role to be determined," a Daybreak spokesperson told GamesBeat. "Upon finalization of his plans, further communication will be provided."
Daybreak COO Russell Shanks will take over the role as president and will work in collaboration with a committee to oversee the company.
Daybreak, when it was a part of Sony, was hit by a number of DDoS attacks by Lizard Squad which brought down several servers. Smedley even had a plane he was on grounded due to a bomb threat from Lizard Squad. It is not known if these issues with Lizard Squad have anything to do with him stepping down or not.
Smedley has worked on a number of high-profile titles, including EverQuest, Planetside 2, H1Z1, and EverQuest Next.
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A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
