Overwatchis currently in a challenging place. To start, whileOverwatchremains distinctly popular, Blizzard appears to have dropped all content plans for the game in favor of the development ofOverwatch 2.Overwatch 2, however, doesn’t appear to be releasing anytime soon. Now Jeff Kaplan,Overwatch’s game director, has left Blizzard, leaving many feeling out of sorts. Yet as one last good deed on his way out, Kaplan’s asked theOverwatchcommunity to continue supporting the developer, who need their backing more than ever.
Kaplan may no longer be a part of Blizzard and theOverwatchteam, but on Thursday he decided to take the time to thank one ofOverwatch’s most active communities.Overwatchplayers on Reddit have long been some ofOverwatch’s most vocal advocates, and fans of Kaplan especially. But as special as it was to theOverwatchsubreddits, it was Kaplan’s closing sentiment that most resounded. His final message reading, “Please take care of theOverwatchteam. They are wonderful, caring, brilliant people and they need you right now.”
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A Reddit user would later be quoted by Kaplan as capturing the sentiment he was going for. The user said thatKaplan’s departurewould have to be “heartbreaking for the morale of the OW team” and that they don’t need negative attitudes on top of dealing with the transition to a new team leader. It’s in that context that Kaplan meant that theOverwatchteam needed its community. This is a situation that no one likely wanted, but that all involved will have to make the best out of.
For the time being, unfortunately, there’s little to be done within theOverwatchcommunity.Blizzard’s been surprisingly lacking in transparencywith regards to the development ofOverwatch 2. The community does what it can to stay energetic about the sequel and the current state ofOverwatch, but the quietness can be frustrating. That said, theOverwatchcommunity at Reddit and beyond is clearly behind theOverwatch 2development team’s efforts even with Kaplan’s departure.
There’s no better evidence of theOverwatchcommunity’s support of the development team than the comments in Kaplan’s Reddit posts. Half of every comment is thankful to Kaplan specifically, while the rest describeshow much they loveOverwatchand what the game has meant to them. Those comments will hopefully provide the team with a healthy source of inspiration for the time being.
That said, Kaplan has clearly created a following not just within theOverwatchcommunity but in the broader video game fandom. Asconfusion over his departure from Blizzardwanes, excitement over where Kaplan may go next grows. Kaplan has yet to discuss his plans, but wherever he goes he’ll have an army of dedicated players anxious to play his next game.
Overwatchis available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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