By now, it has almost become a tradition in Overwatch: Boss Jeff Kaplan sits live on the stream in front of a fire at Christmas and… doesn’t do much. In 2019, he will again sit in front of the traditional “Yule Log” on Christmas Eve.
What kind of stream is this? Today, on December 24th, Christmas Eve, Overwatch boss Jeff Kaplan will again take his place in a leather chair in front of a fireplace and stream.
He did this for the first time in 2017 and attracted almost 40,000 viewers. The stream was a hit on Twitch. In 2019, the stream is set to be repeated.
When does the stream start and where can I watch it? The official stream is currently running and Jeff Kaplan is sitting in his usual manner in front of his fire in the chair, staring into the camera.
The stream lasted about 8-10 hours in the past years, so you still have the chance to see at least a bit of it by the morning of December 25th. You can find the stream on the official Twitch channel of Overwatch, which we have also embedded for you here:
Watch live video from playoverwatch on www.twitch.tv
What is the Overwatch Yule Log?
This is what happens in the stream: In 2017, Jeff Kaplan sat in the chair more or less doing nothing, occasionally holding up some pictures to the camera or referencing and depicting memes. Other than that, he was silent. You can watch the complete 8-hour video here:
In 2018, the Overwatch Yule Log stream was a bit more active. There, Kaplan alternated with other co-hosts, such as e-sports caster Soe Gschwind, voice actors Matt Mercer (McCree) and Charlett Chung (D.Va), and former pro Jacob “Jake” Lyon.
During the 2018 stream, Kaplan even took a “call” from Lead Software Engineer Bill Warnecke, who told him how well he played in his last Overwatch round, but that it was Jeff’s fault that he lost and dropped in rank:
What is the Yule Log? The Yule Log itself, or Christ log, is actually a tradition from the Germanic-pagan origin of Christmas, the Yule festival.
At that time, a log was kept burning in the oven at the winter solstice and during the Rauhnächte. Its ashes were later spread on the fields and in animal feed, as they are said to have a healing effect.
The tradition of the Yule Log is still widespread today, especially in Scandinavia and Great Britain – and apparently at Blizzard. Until the stream starts, you can pass the time with a few rounds of a special mode:
