Blizzard has unexpectedly announced that Jeff Kaplan will no longer be with the company. Kaplan was last known as the head of Overwatch. After almost 20 years in his career, he is now looking for new opportunities.
With a short farewell letter, Kaplan says goodbye to Blizzard. He thanks for 19 years in the company and expresses “deep appreciation” for all employees as well as the fans of the company (via Blizzard).
He closes the brief letter with the words: “Never accept the world as it seems to be. Always see what it can be. I hope you do the same. GG.”
Who is Jeff Kaplan? Kaplan was mainly known for his role as head of Overwatch. With his charismatic presence, he quickly earned the nickname “Papa Jeff” in the community.
At events like BlizzCon, he was always considered quite close to the fans and always brought laughter and good cheer. His famous “Yule Log” streams at Christmas were watched by tens of thousands, even though he was actually just sitting silently in front of a fire.
Kaplan started at Blizzard in 2002 after having previously assisted as a quality tester on Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos. At Blizzard, he initially began as a quest designer for World of Warcraft, for which he later became game director together with Tom Chilton and J. Allen Brack.
After working on Project Titan, which was then canceled, he created the shooter Overwatch with his team. Overwatch is considered a huge success for the company.
Currently, Overwatch 2 is in development, the sequel to the shooter. The development is now led by Aaron Keller as game director, who previously supported Kaplan as a mentor.
Blizzard loses many veterans
Kaplan is just the latest of many long-term employees who are leaving Blizzard. Most recently, in early April 2021, the “father of WoW Classic,” Omar Gonzalez, left the studio. He, like many other veterans from Blizzard before him, switched to Mike Morhaime’s new studio, the former Blizzard CEO.
Morhaime founded Dreamhaven at the end of 2020, which has two separate developer studios under its wing. However, Dreamhaven has yet to present any games.
Whether Kaplan will now join Morhaime or seek another studio is still unknown. Several former Blizzard employees have already come together again and are working on their own projects.
Generally, the current outlook at Blizzard is not very bright for the employees. In addition to those who leave voluntarily, some are also being laid off. A larger wave of layoffs occurred in March 2021, with Blizzard distancing itself from live events – and now Activision Blizzard is planning even more layoffs, including in Germany.
