Overwatch co-creator and former director Jeff Kaplan was obviously a huge part of the shooter's success and very publicly so, frequently appearing at in-person events and recorded streams. He's now shed light on why he left Activision Blizzard in 2021 after cementing himself as such a beloved figure in the game's community for nearly a decade and, urm, it's not because he wanted an early retirement.
Kaplan recalls that after Overwatch's initial launch in 2016, he "felt very in control of the Overwatch team and the direction of the game" in an interview with Lex Fridman. He was steering the wheel on a very sturdy ship. Some endeavours that began with good intentions began to rock the boat, like Overwatch 2 and The Overwatch League, but the director's breaking point was allegedly a dramatic meeting with a former executive at the company.
