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Amazon have announced that they’ve hired John Smedley, and that he’ll be leading up an all new Amazon Games Studio in San Diego.
Smedley is best known for his time at Sony Online Entertainment — which later became Daybreak Studios, where he was CEO for many years, involved in high-level decisions about many of Sony’s MMO’s including H1Z1, Planetside and DC Universe Online.
As a result, Smedley is credited with shaping the modern era of MMO titles. He left Sony Online Entertainment in 2015 after a series of run-ins with the hacker group Lizard Squad, with harassment including a tweeted bomb threat grounding a plane John Smedley was on being grounded for an extended time.
After this Smedley started his own company in San Diego, PixelMage games. The company has now folded, and John will be joining Amazon Games Studios to work on an "ambitious new project" that "taps into the power of the AWS Cloud and Twitch to connect players around the globe". All signs point to Smedley working on a new MMO for the company, although it’s unsure when they’ll reveal details to the wider world.
The news comes as Amazon Games Studio’s are announcing a stack of jobs, not just for the team in San Diego, but also for Seattle, Orange County and Austin locations. Those interested to join the team are encourage to apply here.
