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official-jeff-kaplan · 4 years ago

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NEW LEADERSHIP FOR OVERWATCH

Help us thank Jeff Kaplan for being the Mercy to our Genji. Thank you for always daring to see the world as it could be. Also, help us welcome Aaron Keller as Overwatch's new Game Director. We can't wait to continue fighting for the future with you.

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.

Aaron has been a critical part of the Overwatch team and a key driver in creating the vision for the game. He helped create Overwatch as an original member of the team, and as an 18-year veteran at Blizzard, he has worked side-by-side with Jeff for a long time, not only in building Overwatch but previously in helping to build WoW as well. A few words from Aaron:

Greetings, Overwatch Community,

Jeff’s been a great leader, mentor, and friend, and he knows how much we’re going to miss him. I’ve been lucky to work alongside him and the rest of the Overwatch team for many years in building something that continues to inspire people all around the world, and I’m honored to carry the torch forward.

I love Overwatch. From our first pieces of concept art, to the first maps we built, to the first time I was able to run around as Tracer (who at that early point shot laser beams out of her eyes), this game has just clicked with me. I love its inspiring, hopeful, beautiful world worth fighting for. I love its characters—larger than life, colorful, powerful, and global. And most of all, I love the fast, fluid gameplay requiring teamwork, situational awareness, and quick decision making.

I also recognize that making games at Blizzard has always been a group effort and never about just one point of view. Together with the rest of the team I feel fortunate that we have a deep bench of development and creative leaders, numerous veteran Blizzard artists and designers, and some extremely talented new blood as well—along with tons of support throughout the company for the live game and for Overwatch 2.

Speaking of Overwatch 2, development is continuing at a good pace. We have an exceptional vision we’re executing on, the reaction from many of you to the updates we shared at BlizzConline thrilled us, and we have exciting reveals planned for this year and beyond as we ramp to launch. We’ll be sharing more frequent updates about Overwatch 2 progress and new features in the live game with you all very soon.

While I have no pretenses about filling Jeff’s shoes, I’m excited to step into the game director role and continue to be part of a team that’s putting all of its heart, talent, and focus into the next iteration of Overwatch, and I’m honored to continue serving this incredible community.

-Aaron

We’re also tremendously grateful for Jeff’s contributions over the years. Please see a personal note from Jeff below:

i am leaving Blizzard Entertainment after 19 amazing years.

it was truly the honor of a lifetime to have the opportunity to create worlds and heroes for such a passionate audience. i want to express my deep appreciation to everyone at blizzard who supported our games, our game teams and our players. but i want to say a special thanks to the wonderful game developers that shared in the journey of creation with me.

never accept the world as it appears to be. always dare to see it for what it could be. i hope you do the same.

gg,

jeffrey kaplan

You’ll hear more from Aaron and the rest of the Overwatch team soon. In the meantime, please join us in thanking Jeff, and in welcoming Aaron into his new role.

#overwatch #jeff kaplan

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official-jeff-kaplan · 4 years ago

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Jeff Kaplan left Blizzard, but he wants fans to 'take care of the Overwatch team

Overwatch's former lead tells fans that the team is full of "wonderful, caring, brilliant people and they need you right now."

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, said it was "truly the honor of a lifetime to have the opportunity to create worlds and heroes for such a passionate audience."

He ended his first farewell with a simple "gg," the universal sign-off of a good-sport gamer, before dropping in on the Overwatch subreddit the next day to share a more personal goodbye with the fans.

#Jeff Kaplan #blizzard #overwatch

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official-jeff-kaplan · 4 years ago

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Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan leaves Blizzard

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 assistant game director, as Kaplan’s replacement in the role.

Kaplan was frequently the public face of Overwatch, appearing front and center in developer update videos, at BlizzCon, and at Overwatch League events. Blizzard did not specify why Kaplan was leaving, nor did Kaplan himself in a statement released on the Overwatch website.

Here is Kaplan’s statement:

i am leaving Blizzard Entertainment after 19 amazing years.

never accept the world as it appears to be. always dare to see it for what it could be. i hope you do the same.

Keller, in his own statement, addressed the elephant in the room — that Kaplan is leaving in the midst of Overwatch 2’s development. Development on the sequel is “continuing at a good pace,” Keller said, and he promised more updates soon:

Blizzard showed off new gameplay and updated designs for some of the hero roster for Overwatch 2 at BlizzConline in February. The sequel is still many months off, however, as parent company Activision Blizzard said earlier this year not to expect Overwatch 2 to ship in 2021.

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