Daybreak CEO John Smedley has left his position as the CEO of Daybreak Game Company (the studio formerly known as Sony Online Entertainment), and will be replaced by the company's COO, Russell Shanks.
"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," explained a statement made by the company (via GamesBeat). "Upon finalization of his plans, further communication will be provided."
With Smedley moving to a different role within the company he'll be taken out of the firing line, with the former CEO in a rather public spat with hacker group Lizard Squad that recently culminated in H1Z1 and Planetside 2 being taken offline by a DDoS attack.
Smedley recently publicly called out one Finnish hacker after he was charged with various crimes but not imprisoned, this following a series of events that at one point saw a plane grounded which the former SOE boss was on at the time.
"This shit is real to my life and my family's life and I'm sure as hell not lying down for it for a second," he said at the time. "I've been working with law enforcement to put him and others into jail where they belong. Some of them are minors which makes it tough. Most of them are outside the US, which makes it tougher. But I'm patient and I'm going to be relentless about this."
Of course the recent situation with Lizard Squad isn't mentioned in the statement made by the company, so it's impossible to say with certainty whether that's the reason for the move, and whether Smedley made decision himself or if it was made for him.
No doubt more on this matter will be revealed in due course, and we'll share more with you as and when we can.