Jeff Kaplan, the former boss of the Overwatch staff, has lastly revealed why he left Blizzard after practically 20 years with the firm, pinning the blame on excessive monetary pressures on the recreation to ship for Activision Blizzard.
Kaplan introduced his departure from Blizzard in August 2021, with the controversial Overwatch 2 nonetheless in growth. Kaplan joined Blizzard in 2002 the place he began as a designer on World of Warcraft, growing quests for the then upcoming MMORPG. He ultimately was credited as a recreation director on WoW. In 2009, Kaplan spearheaded an unannounced mission at Blizzard known as Titan, an formidable new MMO that was ultimately canceled in 2014 after tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} was spent on its growth.
Kaplan and members of the Titan staff took concepts from the recreation and redesigned them into the team-based hero shooter now often known as Overwatch, which went on to develop into extremely profitable. Now, 5 years after he left, Kaplan has returned to the public eye to announce his new recreation, The Legend of California, and to inform his aspect of the story. In a sweeping interview with Lex Fridman, Kaplan mentioned his profession up to now, and as half of that opened up on why he left Blizzard.
This is my dialog with Jeff Kaplan, a legendary Blizzard recreation designer of World of Warcraft and Overwatch, that are two of the largest, most influential video games ever made. Jeff is one of the most real & superior human beings I’ve ever met: sort, considerate, hilarious, and… pic.twitter.com/kw14nET8SQ
— Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) March 11, 2026
He pointed to the Overwatch League, Overwatch’s devoted esports collection that revolved round city-based groups mirroring conventional sports activities leagues, as being “the main derail.” Based on Kaplan, who believed in Overwatch League and helped pitch it, it was oversold to companions who then utilized an elevated strain on the Overwatch staff to ship not simply in-game assist for the League in phrases of staff skins, esports spectator digital camera management, and Twitch integration, however strain to generate extra income.
“The place it bought away from us was, there was lots of pleasure about Overwatch League, like an excessive amount of so,” Kaplan mentioned. “After which it bought overmarketed to the folks shopping for the groups. They went on this roadshow the place that they had a deck — and you’ll put something in a deck and promote something — they usually have been just about promoting the Brooklyn Bridge, that Overwatch League was going to be extra well-liked than the NFL. We bought a bunch of billionaire traders in these groups.”
Commitments made for Overwatch League pulled assets away from what Kaplan really wished to do with Overwatch, which was to construct on the recreation itself with new occasions and heroes.
“And so all of your plans at that time kinda exit the window,” Kaplan defined. “You’re not going to work on new world occasions, you are probably not even targeted on Overwatch 2, you are simply treading water. There was lots of speak of like, ‘Oh god, the deal didn’t go effectively and we’ve bought to do ‘make items’ to make the deal higher for them.’ I’m like, ‘Simply give them some a reimbursement.’ If the deal isn’t what folks wished, placing it on us, the Overwatch staff, to assist this beast…
“It was an incredible concept that the improper instincts and… I do not know phrase this in a means that is not damning, however there was an excessive amount of deal with, ‘Let’s make heaps of cash actually quick.’ And lots of folks bought dragged into it.”
The monetary actuality then kicked in, Kaplan mentioned. “Now we didn’t simply have executives at Activision and Blizzard who cared about the backside line of Overwatch. We had all these individuals who mainly invested in the recreation, after which they began to specific their opinions.”
After it grew to become clear Overwatch League wasn’t going to ship NFL cash, “Everyone shortly defaulted again to, ‘Hey, didn’t Overwatch make like $500 million simply in the reside recreation final 12 months? What can we promote and what are you able to give us?’ That strain comes onto the staff. After which the strain to ship Overwatch 2, and all care and love that we had for the reside recreation, let’s simply make occasions and new heroes and new maps, we’re shedding all these assets.”
Kaplan mentioned he believed in Overwatch 2, saying the Overwatch 2 out now just isn’t the PvE model that Blizzard had introduced (Blizzard has since reverted the Overwatch 2 identify to, merely, Overwatch). Overwatch 2 and Overwatch League ultimately grew to become an “albatross,” Kaplan mentioned, ruining what he felt was very a lot a superb factor. “It felt like we have been working Overwatch and we have been very, very profitable and doing a superb job, and I suppose the followers have been glad,” he mentioned.
Kaplan then revealed a gathering with Activision’s then Chief Monetary Officer which, as he described it, “was the largest f*** you second I had in my profession.”
(The greenback quantities are redacted to forestall Kaplan from breaking a non-disclosure settlement, in accordance with the interview tape.)
“What in the end broke me and my Blizzard profession was I bought known as into the CFO’s workplace, and he sits me down and he says… he offers me a date, which at the time was 2020 and was going to slide to 2021, however at the time it was 2020, and he mentioned: ‘Overwatch has to make [redacted] in 2020, after which yearly after that it wants a recurring income of [redacted].’ After which he says to me, ‘If it would not do [redacted] {dollars}, we will lay off 1,000 folks, and that is going to be on you.’ And that was simply the largest f*** you second I had in my profession. It felt surreal to be in that situation.”
Kaplan went on to say he thought he’d retire at Blizzard. However that assembly was the straw that broke the camel’s again, and he left the firm a 12 months later.
“As somebody who’s labored on lots of video games, made lots of video games, you get in these conferences the place they’re like, ‘Fortnite has 1,400 folks engaged on it, for those who simply rent 1,400 folks and make it free-to-play, we’ll make that cash, proper?’ I had believed I would by no means work anyplace however Blizzard. I beloved it. It was a component of who I was. And I thought I was a component of it. And I actually thought I would retire from the place. I by no means thought the day would come. However that was it. We’re executed right here. Fortunately for Blizzard, that CFO is now not there.”
Activision Blizzard’s then CFO was Dennis Durkin, who left in Could 2021. IGN has requested Activision for remark.
Picture by James Sheppard/Edge Journal/Future through Getty Photos.
Wesley is Director, Information at IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.