Jeff Kaplan says he has not followed Overwatch since leaving Blizzard
The former Overwatch director told GameSpot he made a "clinical separation" from the game for his mental health and does not read posts about it.
Jeff Kaplan, the former game director of Overwatch, said in an interview with GameSpot published on October 14 that he has not followed Overwatch since leaving Blizzard Entertainment. Kaplan described his relationship with the game as a clinical separation he made for the sake of his mental health.
Kaplan told GameSpot that he does not read social media posts, Blizzard news or mentions of his own name related to Overwatch. He added that the current Overwatch belongs to the current development team and to its players.
Kaplan joined Blizzard in 2002 as a tester on Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and later became director of World of Warcraft during the 2008 Wrath of the Lich King expansion. He was subsequently moved to Project Titan, a canceled game whose elements were used in Overwatch, and he left Blizzard in April 2021, before the launch of Overwatch 2. Echo, released in April 2020, was the last hero released under his direction.
After leaving Blizzard, Kaplan founded the independent studio Kintsugiyama. The studio's open-world action survival game, The Legend of California, has a fifth alpha test scheduled for November 12 to 18.
Quick answers
What did Jeff Kaplan say about Overwatch?
He told GameSpot on October 14 that he has not followed the game since leaving Blizzard and does not read social media posts, Blizzard news or mentions of his name related to it.
Why did Jeff Kaplan stop following Overwatch?
He described the separation as clinical and said it was made for his mental health.
What is Jeff Kaplan working on now?
His studio Kintsugiyama has a fifth alpha test of The Legend of California scheduled for November 12 to 18.