Jeff Kaplan is undeniably one ofActivision Blizzard’s most public figures, regularly engaging with fans and players ofOverwatch, usually even being the one to announce new updates for the title. As lead designer and director ofOverwatch, it seemed safe to assume that he’d continue his tenure throughoutOverwatch 2as well. But, to the surprise of many, he is instead leaving the company beforeOverwatch 2even has a release date.
Blizzarditself announced the news via the officialOverwatchwebsite, sharing Kaplan’s own farewell letter. Kaplan simply writes that it has been an honor to work for the company for the past 19 years and he appreciates all the support he has received from Blizzard and the developers he’s worked alongside.
RELATED:Rumor: Overwatch Mobile Game in the Works Alongside OW2
Kaplan has spent his entire games industry career at Blizzard, starting out in 2002 by working on strategy gameWarcraft 3: Reign of Chaosbefore moving on to theWorld of WarcraftMMO. He also served as a designer on the canceledTitanMMO, with 2016’sOverwatchbeing the first game he directed.
Kaplan doesn’t provide an exact reason for why he has decided to leave nor does he explain what he intends to do next, whether it be to work for another studio, establish his own, or step away from the games industry entirely. Whatever he’s doing, it’s certainly not going to beOverwatchrelated.
Considering it was assumed he would be continuing his director role onOverwatch 2, his sudden departure is bound to worry fans. The game has notably lacked any real updates since its original announcement in 2019, although it was mentioned duringthis year’s BlizzCon.
Fortunately, Blizzard already has someone ready to take over Kaplan’s role, namely Aaron Keller. This may put fans' minds at ease as Keller is not only a veteran within Blizzard, having worked for the company for 18 years, but he’s one of the founding members ofOverwatchand acted as the game’s assistant director. He’s also worked onWorld of Warcraftand, before joining Blizzard, was a designer for theLegacy of Kaingames.
Aside from bidding a fond farewell to Kaplan and expressing his excitement for his new role onOverwatch 2, Keller assures that development is progressing at a good pace. He also promises more frequent updates very soon, and that the team has exciting reveals planned for the rest of the year and beyond.
He gives no indication of whenOverwatch 2will come out, but some suspect that it won’t release by the end of the year, meaning it might not arrive until 2022 at the earliest. It has been rumored that development is going slowly andhas already been delayed, no doubt partially due to the coronavirus pandemic.
