John Smedley (video games)

John Smedley (born August 27, 1968) is the former president of Daybreak Game Company, which changed its name from Sony Online Entertainment in 2015.

Smedley was born August 27, 1968. He became heavily involved in table-top RPGS such as Dungeons & Dragons, which would later give him the ideas for EverQuest. He attended Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego, California, before graduating and attending San Diego State University.

In the early 1990s Smedley started a development company called Knight Technologies that produced contract games.

Smedley was involved with the creation and development of the original EverQuest, and was co-founder of Verant Interactive, Inc., which became Sony Online Entertainment, Inc. (SOE) after it was purchased by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2000.

In 2007, he announced a change in direction for Sony Online Entertainment, including a broadening of business models beyond the subscription model and pursuing female consumers to balance their audience, which was 85% male at the time.

On August 24, 2014, a hacking group called Lizard Squad claimed that the plane on which John Smedley was flying (American Airlines Flight 362 from Dallas, Texas to San Diego, California) had explosives on board. This led to the flight being diverted to Phoenix, Arizona.

On July 22, 2015, after threatening a member of the hacker group Lizard Squad on Twitter, Smedley stepped down from his position as president and CEO of Daybreak Games Company.