The team at Overwatch is getting an overhaul.
Blizzard Entertainment, the publisher and developer of the popular multiplayer shooter, announced that Jeff Kaplan, who has been with the company for 19 years, is leaving his position as game director. "[I]t was truly the honor of a lifetime to have the opportunity to create worlds and heroes for such a passionate audience," Kaplan wrote in a letter. "[I] want to express my deep appreciation to everyone at [B]lizzard who supported our games, our game teams and our players. [B]ut [I] want to say a special thanks to the wonderful game developers that shared in the journey of creation with me."
Kaplan will be replaced by Aaron Keller, a veteran of the video game company and one of the founding members of the Overwatch team. Keller has been at Blizzard for 18 years and "worked side-by-side" with Kaplan on Overwatch and World of Warcraft.
"Jeff's been a great leader, mentor, and friend, and he knows how much we're going to miss him," Keller said. "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."
Released in 2016, Overwatch has gamers select a character from a roster of heroes and compete in fast-paced multiplayer battles and challengers. It debuted to the video game scene to critical acclaim, earning multiple Game of the Year awards and breaking sales records. A sequel was announced in 2019, and Keller stated that the development team will be "sharing more frequent updates about Overwatch 2 progress... very soon."
You can read Keller's full letter to the Overwatch community below:
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
Developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment, Overwatch is available on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Source: Blizzard