Ex-Overwatch 2 Lead: Blizzard Execs Pushing Overwatch 2’s Reveal Were ‘Fucking Idiots’

Former Blizzard game director Jeff Kaplan left the company five years ago, but the studio’s Overwatch fumbles are still fresh in his mind, judging by frank remarks he shared during a podcast. In it, the former face of the hero shooter described what was happening behind the scenes leading up to Blizzard’s surprise announcement of Overwatch 2. Kaplan said there was deep dysfunction at the executive level within the company.

Kaplan appeared on an episode of Gaming World Interviews, and the conversation inevitably turned to his time at Blizzard and his “really sad” departure from the company — and everything that led up to that decision.

“I never in a million years thought I would ever quit… that’s how important it was to me,” Kaplan said.

The early days of Overwatch were happy, Kaplan said, but things changed after the game became successful. Suddenly, executives at Blizzard and Activision started taking an active interest in its ongoing development. Once former Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime left the company, Kaplan opined, Overwatch‘s creators started to lose control of the game’s direction at the hands of a “revolving door” of clueless executives.

Fans may recall that Overwatch was originally billed as a long-term, live-service shooter that would keep improving without needing a sequel. Instead, Overwatch fans found themselves in the middle of an unexplained content drought. Kaplan alleged that this sudden shift in priorities happened because the team was told they couldn’t design new heroes for the game. Instead, the team had to begin work on Overwatch 2.

Kaplan said that he tried to reason with upper management at Blizzard and Activision by reminding them of his successful track record. By Kaplan’s estimation, however, those executives approached Overwatch with a sense that they had something to prove — even if they didn’t truly understand the appeal of the game.

“From 2018 until the day I left, it was just constant fighting with the executive staff,” Kaplan recalled.

Overwatch 2 at Blizzcon 2019

The announcement of Overwatch 2 led to a “huge fight” with the suits at Blizzard, Kaplan said. “I’m like, what are we doing? Like we don’t really know what this game is, we don’t know the business model. This is a huge mistake.”

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Another point of contention for Kaplan was that executives decided to announce a sequel players didn’t want at the same time as Diablo 4. In doing so, Blizzard prevented either game from soaking up the spotlight they deserved.

“And I’m like, you guys are fucking idiots, you know?”

About a year and a half after Overwatch 2‘s announcement, Kaplan left Blizzard. He said that by that point, despite being the game’s director, he didn’t have much power over the vision or its execution. This helplessness was worsened by the public’s verdict on the game, which many considered a betrayal of Blizzard’s original promise. As the face of the game, Kaplan was used to taking heat over Blizzard’s creative decisions. Doing so became much harder when he wasn’t truly responsible for the new direction.

“I’m tired of fighting, and I don’t want to put my name on a project I don’t believe in anymore, which is tragic because I have a lot of pride,” Kaplan recalled thinking at the time.

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Five years later, Overwatch is in the middle of a comeback. Blizzard is adding 10 new heroes throughout 2026, they kicked off a new narrative arc, and dropped the “2” from the name. Kaplan, for his part, is in the middle of working on The Legend of California, a survival game set during the era of California’s Gold Rush. The developers, Kintsugiyama, are aiming for an early access period in 2027.

The dust-up from Overwatch 2‘s mess has settled — but it’s still insightful to learn more about the game’s circumstances leading up to this point.