Jeff Kaplan’s Departure from Blizzard Linked to Heartbreaking Circumstances

Jeff Kaplan, the former director of Overwatch and a key figure in its development, departed from Blizzard Entertainment in 2021 after nearly two decades with the company. Since then, he has been quietly developing a new game and recently shared insights about his exit from Blizzard, a place he once envisioned as his long-term career home. The primary reason for his departure, as many had speculated, was the corporate interference and rampant greed from Activision Blizzard.

In a recent five-hour interview on a podcast, Kaplan reflected on his early days at Blizzard, his contributions to World of Warcraft, and the rollercoaster journey of Overwatch. While he reminisced fondly about his time there, he also pinpointed the turning points that led to his resignation.

“The major derail was Overwatch League,” he stated, referencing the now-defunct esports league that launched in 2017. Kaplan explained that the overwhelming hype surrounding Overwatch League, fueled by Activision Blizzard’s aggressive marketing, created immense pressure on the development team.

“There was a lot of excitement about Overwatch League. Like, too much,” Kaplan recalled. “It got over-marketed to the people buying the teams. They went on this roadshow […] and they were pretty much selling the Brooklyn Bridge, claiming Overwatch League would be more popular than the NFL.”

After billionaire investors poured in around $20 million, they began demanding new features for Overwatch that the team struggled to implement while maintaining the live game. Features like Twitch integration, broadcast camera controls, and team uniforms stretched the Overwatch team thin, according to Kaplan.

“All your plans at that point kind of go out the window,” he said. “You’re not working on new world events, you’re not really even focused on Overwatch 2, you’re just kind of treading water.”

Kaplan described the Overwatch League as “a house of cards” and “a great idea with the wrong instincts,” emphasizing that the focus shifted too heavily towards rapid profit generation.

Eventually, the league’s owners came to the realization that Blizzard’s esports venture wasn’t going to rival the NFL.

“Originally, the business model was going to include in-person events with big ticket sales and merchandise,” Kaplan explained. “But it quickly became clear that organizing events with teams from London and Shanghai was unfeasible. The merchandise was decent, but it wasn’t going to generate NFL-level revenue, despite any delusions about that.”

As pressure mounted, the focus shifted back to Overwatch’s existing success, with the team feeling the weight of expectations to deliver on Overwatch 2 while also maintaining the live game.

Kaplan noted that during 2016 and 2017, he felt empowered as a game director, but as the Overwatch League developed, it became a burden.

Interestingly, it wasn’t the league’s eventual failure—officially ending in 2024—that prompted his departure. Instead, it was a single meeting with an Activision Blizzard executive that changed everything.

“What ultimately broke me and my Blizzard career was being called into the CFO’s office, where I was told […] ‘Overwatch has to make [redacted] in 2020, and then every year after that it needs a recurring revenue of [redacted],'” Kaplan recounted. “And then he said, ‘If it doesn’t do [redacted] dollars, we’re gonna lay off a thousand people, and that’s gonna be on you.’ That was the biggest wake-up call of my career. It felt surreal to be in that situation.”

Kaplan’s comments regarding specific figures were redacted in the podcast due to a non-disclosure agreement.

“I had believed I would never work anywhere but Blizzard,” he shared. “I loved it; it was part of my identity, and I thought I would retire there. I never imagined the day would come when I would leave, but that moment made it clear: I was done. Fortunately for Blizzard, that CFO is no longer with the company.”

The CFO at the time, Dennis Durkin, left the company in May 2021, just a month after Kaplan’s departure.

Now, Kaplan is focused on a new project titled The Legend of California, which diverges significantly from Overwatch. His new studio, Kintsugiyama, describes the game as “a multiplayer, action-survival FPS set on the Island of California during the gold rush era.” The game is being published by Dreamhaven, a company founded by former Blizzard president Mike Morhaime.