Amazon Gaming executive becomes latest to depart struggling unit
Christian Petersen


John Smedley - a videogame industry veteran who's been running Amazon Game Studios' San Diego office - is leaving Amazon Gaming (NASDAQ:AMZN), Bloomberg reported, alongside the company's plans to cut 18,000 jobs.
Smedley spent most of his career with Sony, where he worked on hits including Everquest and Star Wars Galaxies.

But none of the projects on which he's worked for Amazon since 2017 have been released.
âAfter a lot of thought, Iâve decided itâs time for me to try my hand at something new,â Smedley said in a staff email, according to the report.
Amazon's videogame ambitions have been in transition since the departure of former boss Mike Frazzini last year.
While most of Amazon Gaming's efforts have been canceled or shuttered, the current big initiative is publishing a major new entry in the venerable Tomb Raider game series.