Aaron Keller will fill step in as game director
LongtimeOverwatchgame director Jeff Kaplan has announced he is leaving Blizzard Entertainment. Aaron Keller, a founding member of theOverwatchteam, will be stepping into his role moving forward.
In an announcement blog, Kaplan thanked his fellow developers and Blizzard employees, as well asOverwatchfans. You can read his statement in full below:
iam leaving Blizzard Entertainment after 19 amazing years.
it was truly the honor of a lifetime to have the opportunity to create worlds and heroes for such a passionate audience.iwant to express my deep appreciation to everyone at blizzard who supported our games, our game teams and our players. butiwant to say a special thanks to the wonderful game developers that shared in the journey of creation with me.
never accept the world as it appears to be. always dare to see it for what it could be.ihope you do the same.
gg,
jeffreykaplan
In his own statement, newfound director Keller says development ofOverwatch 2is “continuing at a good pace.” Keller says there are exciting reveals planned for this year as the team ramps up to launch, and that it will be sharing “more frequent updates” aboutOverwatch 2‘s progress and features very soon.
Kaplan has been thepublic face ofOverwatchfor some time, evengarnering some memes. He started at Blizzard Entertainment in 2002, withcredits stretching back toWorld of Warcraft. After stepping down from game director onWoWto spearhead the eventually-canceledTitan, Kaplan then became the lead for what would becomeOverwatch.
Overwatchgarneredtens of millions of playersunder his tenure. Now, withOverwatch 2looming—thoughstill without a launch target—we’ll see what the road ahead looks like with a new leader at the helm.
“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 ofOverwatch, and I’m honored to continue serving this incredible community,” said Keller.
