Search results
Jeffrey Kaplan is an American video game designer and former vice president of Blizzard Entertainment, a position he held until he left the company in 2021. He designed elements of World of Warcraft and is the former lead director of Overwatch.
Apr 20, 2021 · We want to let you know that Jeff Kaplan has decided to leave the company after a long and storied career here, and that Aaron Keller, a Blizzard veteran and founding member of the Overwatch team, will be stepping in as game director.
- Kaplan leaves after almost 20 years.
- Overwatch 2: Rome and New York Maps Screenshots
By Matt Kim
Updated: Aug 17, 2021 12:08 am
Posted: Apr 20, 2021 5:29 pm
Jeff Kaplan, the director of Overwatch, has announced he is leaving Blizzard Entertainment after nearly 20 years with the company.
In a personal message, Kaplan announced his departure from Blizzard Entertainment after 19 years. You can read his full letter below.
Greetings, Overwatch Community,
Kaplan joined Blizzard in 2002 where he started as a designer on World of Warcraft, developing quests for the upcoming MMORPG. He eventually was credited as a game director on WoW. In 2009, Kaplan spearheaded an unannounced project at Blizzard called Titan, a first-person shooter game.
Unfortunately, Titan never came together and was officially canceled in 2014. However, Kaplan and members of the Titan team took ideas from the game and redesigned them into a team-based hero shooter now known as Overwatch.
Overwatch has been incredibly successful since its launch. With over 50 million players and numerous Game of the Year awards, Overwatch helped reinvigorate the hero shooter genre. Overwatch also spawned off its own dedicated esports series the Overwatch League which spearheaded city-based teams mirroring traditional sports leagues.
Blizzard is also developing the sequel Overwatch 2, a game designed to introduce a single-player component that fleshes out the beloved heroes of Overwatch. Though new PvP maps and heroes will still be released for both Overwatch 1 and 2.
As for the future of Overwatch 2, you can read Keller’s full letter below:
Greetings, Overwatch Community,
Apr 20, 2021 · We want to let you know that Jeff Kaplan has decided to leave the company after a long and storied career here, and that Aaron Keller, a Blizzard veteran and founding member of the Overwatch team, will be stepping in as game director.
Apr 20, 2021 · Jeff Kaplan, the longtime director of Blizzard’s team shooter Overwatch, has left the studio, with Aaron Keller stepping into his role.
Apr 22, 2021 · Jeff Kaplan, lead designer and former public face of Overwatch, has left Blizzard after almost two decades with the company. Kaplan, in an official statement on the Overwatch blog,...
Apr 20, 2021 · Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan is leaving Blizzard Entertainment. The company announced the personnel change on the game’s official website Tuesday, naming Aaron Keller, Overwatch...
