Smedley made a name for himself in the 90s when he was tasked to help create a persistent online universe for Sony. By 1999 his development team was ready to launch Everquest, which was a huge success and could be considered the game to bring MMORPGs to the masses.
He continued to lead projects for Sony Online Entertainment, including Star Wars: Galaxies, Everquest II, Planetside 2 and H1Z1. He even stayed on to help SOE transition to Daybreak Studios, after many of his colleagues and projects went to the chopping block.
Stepping down from his position at SOE coincided with a heavy dose of harassment from the cybervandal group Lizard Squad. The conflict between a prominent member, Julius Kivimaki and Smedley came to a head with a bomb threat that landed the CEOs plane.
