John Smedley has left Daybreak Games to start new company

John Smedley stepped down as president of Daybreak Game Company last month, after dealing with an extended campaign of harassment that also targeted his family and his company. At the time, Daybreak said Smedley would be "transitioning to a different role" after taking a break, but today the company confirmed that he will not be back.

"On behalf of Daybreak, we wish Smed well in his new endeavors," a representative said in a statement. "Any questions regarding his new business should be directed to him."

An update to Smedley's Facebook page that was actually posted late last week indicates that he is now the CEO of a new company, the name of which has not yet been revealed.

It's not entirely surprising that Smedley has opted not to return to Daybreak. The reasons for his original decision to step down were never spelled out, but it came shortly after Daybreak's games, which include Everquest, PlanetSide, and H1Z1, suffered a serious DDoS attack. Those attacks were launched in retaliation against Smedley's vow to pursue legal action against Julius Kivimaki, purportedly a member of Lizard Squad, who had been given a two-year suspended sentence for his leading role in harassing Smedley and his family, which included diverting a flight Smedley was on with a bomb threat.

Thanks, Game Informer.