Jeff Kaplan countered a forum troll in Overwatch . But the story continues: Now the troll gets a ton of gifts!
Sometimes the stories on the internet take quite a strange turn. Just a few hours ago, we reported that a troll (SharkyMarky) had accused the developer team in the official Overwatch forum of not playing their own game. Game Director Jeff Kaplan countered and explained how many more victories he has than the troll and how much more time he invests in the game because it’s his job and he loves it.
So far, so cool – right? Not at all!
SharkyMarky wanted to apologize for his behavior and contacted Blizzard customer service. The customer service representative allowed him to formulate an apology and explanation and forward it to Kaplan. He provided detailed feedback on Widowmaker, with whom he was currently quite dissatisfied, and apologized for his provocative, thoughtless forum post.
Shortly after, SharkyMarky received an email from Jeff Kaplan himself!
Troll receives email from the Overwatch head
Kaplan also politely apologized and stated:
“First of all, I apologize for confronting you publicly in the forum. That was unprofessional and a lack of judgment on my part. To explain (and not make excuses for it), I was just exhausted at that point. My team and my company care a lot about feedback. So much so that it’s one of our core values, which is written on the campus in bronze around the orc statue – “Every voice matters”.
We continuously take critical feedback – and we should. Personally, however, I get frustrated and annoyed when people just attack us without really saying what their problem is.”
He went on to say that he loves critical feedback, as it makes the game better. However, the feedback must also contain something that can be acted upon.
Additionally, he thanked for the feedback on Widowmaker and added:
“Anyway, SharkyMarky, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have used an engaged player to make my own point clear. You didn’t deserve that.”
Blizzard trolled, received a year subscription as a reward
As another sign of apology, SharkyMarky received a year subscription for World of Warcraft from Kaplan. He thanked for it but said he had no interest in the game – and then received the “Noire” skin for Widowmaker unlocked.
SharkyMarky has indeed recognized his mistake (otherwise he wouldn’t have written the apology) and came to the conclusion: Blizzard cares about the community and values the feedback greatly. And they likely play their own games too.
It’s probably one of the rare cases where trolls ultimately got rewarded. And the worst part? Jeff Kaplan is now even more likable than before. We thought that wasn’t even possible.
By the way, soon in Overwatch, we will go to the Horizon Moon Colony!
