SOE's Blakely Moves To Zynga

John Blakely, originally vice president of development at Sony Online Entertainment, has left the company to join social game developer Zynga. According to the industry veteran's LinkedIn profile, Blakely left the DC Universe Online publisher last month to take a general manager role at Zynga's Austin branch. He had been at SOE for just over nine years, first as a senior producer before moving into the vice president of development role. Sony Online Entertainment confirmed Blakely's departure with games blog Kotaku, noting that he had resigned from the position. The company said that it was thankful for "the passion and leadership he brought to work every day and fully support him in his future endeavors." Current SOE executive director of development Lorin Jameson is set to take over the role from Blakely. Jameson has worked at the company for over eight years. SOE was hit with layoffs and studio closures earlier this year, as the company confirmed that it was closing its Denver, Seattle and Tucson studios, cutting 205 jobs and cancelling the long-awaited The Agency.