Ex-Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan ignores everything about the hero shooter after his 'almost clinical' departure 5 years ago: 'I don't search for my name in Overwatch. I don't search for Overwatch. I sort of just disconnect.'

Former Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan has distanced himself from the hero shooter since his departure five years ago, according to a recent interview with GameSpot. Kaplan, who rose through the ranks on the World of Warcraft team before becoming Overwatch's game director, described his exit from the Overwatch team in 2021 as a "clinical separation."

He explained that he stopped playing Overwatch and actively avoided it after leaving, as well as disconnecting from the Overwatch subreddit and related content. Kaplan also shared that he was expecting to retire from Blizzard when the company's former CFO threatened to lay off 1,000 employees if Overwatch didn't meet financial targets.

This incident, he called, was the "biggest fuck you moment" of his career. Kaplan has since moved on to lead a new studio with former Blizzard developer Tim Ford, working on a new open world survival cowboy game called The Legend of California.