Jeff Kaplan Says Separation From Overwatch Was “Clinical”: ” I Never Go Back”

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Jeff Kaplan, Overwatch’s former director, said he’s not played the game he was the public face of since April 2021, when he left developer Blizzard after nearly 20 years to go indie. He called his relationship with Blizzard’s shooter one of “clinical separation.”

Kaplan revealed this to GameSpot in an interview that dove into his history with Blizzard and the creation of his new game, The Legend of California. 

When asked if he had continued to play Overwatch or kept tabs on it in the wake of it dropping the “2” from its name and its addition of 10 new heroes over the course of the year, Kaplan said he hadn’t. He said he’s essentially cut all ties with the game he used to direct.

“With Overwatch, I had a very almost clinical separation, knowing how the WoW thing had gone,” Kaplan said. “I’ve literally not played the game since April 2021.”

He continued: “I don’t, for my own psyche, I don’t read the subreddits. After I said my goodbye to competitive Overwatch and the Overwatch subreddit, I never go back and read. I don’t watch YouTube [videos]. I don’t search for my name in Overwatch. I don’t search for