Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan shares reason behind 2021 exit

Former Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan has said that corporate pressure from Activision Blizzard contributed to his decision to leave Blizzard Entertainment in 2021 after 19 years with the company.

Kaplan discussed his departure during a five-hour interview on the Lex Fridman Podcast, where he reflected on his career at Blizzard and the challenges surrounding Overwatch.

He said he once believed he would retire from the studio but ultimately chose to leave following increasing commercial demands tied to the Overwatch franchise.

According to Kaplan, the launch of the Overwatch League in 2017 marked a turning point. “The major derail was Overwatch League,” he said, explaining that expectations surrounding the esports competition created significant internal pressure.

Kaplan said investors paid around $20 million for team slots after promotional efforts positioned the league as potentially rivalling established sports competitions.

“There was a lot of excitement about the Overwatch League. Like, too much,” Kaplan said. “It got over-marketed to the people buying the teams. They went on this roadshow [...] and they were pretty much selling the Brooklyn Bridge, that Overwatch League was going to be more popular than the NFL.”

He said the demands from investors required the development team to divert resources to broadcast features, Twitch integration and team branding, which limited work on game updates and future projects.

“All your plans at that point kind of go out the window,” Kaplan said. “You're not working on new world events, you're not really even focused on Overwatch 2, you're just kind of treading water.”

Kaplan said a later meeting with an Activision Blizzard executive was the decisive moment in his decision to leave.

He recalled being told that Overwatch had to meet a specific revenue target or the company would lay off a thousand employees. “If it doesn't do [redacted] dollars, we're gonna lay off a thousand people, and that's gonna be on you,” he said.

Kaplan left Blizzard in April 2021. The company’s chief financial officer at the time, Dennis Durkin, departed one month later.

Since leaving, Kaplan has founded the studio Kintsugiyama and is developing a multiplayer action-survival first-person shooter titled The Legend of California.

The game is set during the Gold Rush on a fictional island version of California and features procedurally generated maps and cooperative multiplayer.