John Smedley, the man games such as Plants vs Zombies, H1Z1, EverQuest, Star Wars: Galaxies and so many more has just stepped down from his position as Amazon Games San Diego Studio Head. He worked at Amazon Games for the past 6 years, and before that he spent 13 years at Sony Online Entertainment.
According to a report by Bloomberg (via VGC), it has been understood that Smedley let his colleagues know about his decision through an email to the staff. He stated after a lot of ruminating, he has come to a conclusion that it is time for him to try his hand at “something new”.
Andrew Sites is the person, who will be taking his position as the new San Diego Studio Head. He was working as a principal publishing producer at Amazon Games previously, and worked with Smedley during his time at Sony as well.
Smedley’s tenure at Amazon Games lasted for 6 years, during which he worked on several titles, but none of them came to fruition. However, a spokesperson from Amazon has called Smedley an industry legend. They have also expressed gratitude for all the contributions he made during his tenure.
The spokesperson also added that the San Diego team are following through with their commitment to bring an unannounced title to life. He concluded stating that Smedley will stay on until the transition period is over before he exits. The next title that everyone is expecting from Amazon Games is Crystal Dynamics’ Tomb Raider.
