Jeff Kaplan – Overwatch director, Blizzard Entertainment vice president, and one of the studio’s most recognisable faces – has announced his departure from the company after 19 years.
Kaplan began his tenure at Blizzard in 2002, quickly joining the World of Warcraft team as a designer, and eventually becoming game director on the MMO. He left World of Warcraft in 2009 to work on Blizzard’s ill-fated Titan project, which was cancelled after a lengthy development, but went on to serve as lead director on wildly successful hero shooter Overwatch – and has very much been the public face of the game since its launch in 2016.
In a message announcing his departure, Kaplan wrote, “I am leaving Blizzard Entertainment after 19 amazing years. It was truly the honour of a lifetime to have the opportunity to create worlds and heroes for such a passionate audience.”