Former Overwatch game director cut all ties with the game after leaving Blizzard to maintain his mental well-being

Now the developer is busy creating a new project.

Former Overwatch development lead Jeff Kaplan, after leaving Blizzard Entertainment, began working on his new project The Legend of California. In an interview with GameSpot, he said that he has not returned to his old game and specifically asks algorithms not to show him content related to the Overwatch franchise.

Kaplan left Blizzard Entertainment in 2021 after 19 years of work and, according to him, the "breakup" with Overwatch was easier for him because he had already gone through something similar with World of Warcraft in the past.

During that period, WoW was his whole life: "If I wasn't working on WoW, it meant I was playing WoW. And during gaming sessions, I had a notebook next to me where I made notes so that in the morning I could come in and say: "This is what we need to change.""

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Image source: Blizzard Entertainment

Now, for his own "peace of mind," Jeff Kaplan avoids Overwatch materials, doesn't watch YouTube videos, and has stopped reading thematic forums: "I'm basically telling all algorithms: "I'm no longer interested in Overwatch."" At the same time, he is proud of the work done and sometimes looks at photos from BlizzCon 2014, where they announced Overwatch — for him, it was "one of the most special days of his life."

Now, Kaplan explains, Overwatch belongs to the players and the new development team, and he himself is working on The Legend of California.