Blizzard’s Overwatch has changed a lot since former lead Jeff ‘Papa Jeff’ Kaplan departed the live-service game in 2021. In the years since, the game has launched into a numbered sequel, and then re-launched into the current game which is, again, titled just Overwatch.
In the half-decade since Kaplan’s departure, Blizzard has seemingly lit a fire under the game with faster, deeper updates, partly inspired by competition from Marvel Rivals. However, Kaplan himself is simply disinterested in keeping up with the game he helped create.
Kapaln explained that he “had a very almost clinical separation” with Overwatch after his departure in an interview with GameSpot. The game director explained that leaving World of Warcraft in 2008 was so hard, that it changed how he left projects, and that means leaving Overwatch behind entirely.
“When I stepped away from Overwatch in April of 2021, I was kind of used to that moment of what it meant to give all of yourself, your heart, your soul–because it’s not just a job, there’s no one who can do this and have it just be a job–and then have this shocking moment where you realise it doesn’t belong to you,” he said.”It belongs to the team, belongs to the players, it belongs to Blizzard, but it doesn’t belong to you.”
With the hero shooter,`Kaplan has cut himself off entirely, deciding not to keep up with news, not to follow content creators, and to simply exist without knowledge of whatever Overwatch is doing. In fact, they even go our of their way to tell social media algorithms that they aren’t interested in the game.
“I never go back and read. I don’t watch YouTube [videos]. I don’t search for my name in Overwatch. I don’t search for Overwatch. I sort of just disconnect. I actually tell all the algorithms like, ‘Yeah, I’m not really interested in Overwatch anymore. I know you think I’m the Overwatch guy, but like, that’s just not for me anymore,” he said.
Right now, Kaplan is working on something brand-new: The Legend of California. Described as an “open world, action-survival shooter set on the mythical Island of California during the gold rush era”, the upcoming multiplayer game is drastically different from the developer’s last game, and wholly unique in the industry.
Currently without a release date, The Legend of California does not currently have a release date. The game is slated to launch on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.
