{"rewrite":{"id":"r_5588f34c355ca3a4bf191adc","clusterId":"c_3939847acd88c79c036f0c75","slug":"jeff-kaplan-says-he-clashed-with-blizzard-management-over-overwatch-2","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Jeff Kaplan Says He Clashed With Blizzard Management Over Overwatch 2","summary":"Jeff Kaplan, former game director on Overwatch, said in a November 11 video interview that from 2018 he was in constant conflict with Blizzard management over the game's direction. He said he opposed the BlizzCon 2019 announcement of Overwatch 2 as premature and criticized management for intervening in creative decisions and for asking that heroes be sold for money.","whyItMatters":"Kaplan's account puts the content drought in the original Overwatch and the sequel's hero-unlock model on management decisions made while he was director, not on the development team.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eKaplan appeared on the YouTube channel Gaming World Interviews on November 11 and described losing decision-making authority despite holding the director title. He said management prioritized Overwatch 2 to the point that new heroes for the original game were not permitted, leaving it short of content for years.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe also said management asked for heroes to be sold for money, which he called a line he did not want to cross. Overwatch 2, released after his 2021 departure, uses a battle pass to unlock new heroes.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Jeff Kaplan says from 2018 he was in constant conflict with Blizzard management. He opposed the BlizzCon 2019 Overwatch 2 reveal as premature, and says management blocked new heroes for the original game while asking that heroes be sold for money.","twitterPost":"Jeff Kaplan says he clashed with Blizzard management from 2018. He called the BlizzCon 2019 Overwatch 2 reveal premature, says new heroes were blocked for the original game, and resisted a request to sell heroes for money.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Jeff Kaplan said in a November 11 interview that he was in constant conflict with Blizzard management from 2018 onward. He opposed the BlizzCon 2019 Overwatch 2 announcement as premature and said management blocked new heroes for the original game while asking that heroes be sold. Kaplan left Blizzard in 2021.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20261113-479154/\",\"title\":\"Overwatch Creator Strongly Opposed the Premature Overwatch 2 Announcement; Major Clash with Blizzard Management Over Development Direction\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":5555,"outputTokens":664,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1794563066,"createdAt":"2026-11-13T09:39:08.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-11-13T09:43:22.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-11-13T09:43:22.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_3939847acd88c79c036f0c75","canonicalTitle":"『オーバーウォッチ』の生みの親、早すぎる『オーバーウォッチ2』発表に猛反対していた。開発方針めぐり、Blizzard経営陣と大揉め","representativeArticleId":"a_bf4cc8cd03ce8897625942d1","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Overwatch\",\"Overwatch 2\"],\"studios\":[\"Blizzard Entertainment\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-11-13T08:57:37.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-11-13T08:57:37.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-11-13T09:43:22.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20261113-479154/","title":"『オーバーウォッチ』の生みの親、早すぎる『オーバーウォッチ2』発表に猛反対していた。開発方針めぐり、Blizzard経営陣と大揉め"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Overwatch","Overwatch 2"],"studios":["Blizzard Entertainment"],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Jeff Kaplan appeared in a video on the YouTube channel Gaming World Interviews on November 11.","Kaplan said he strongly opposed the BlizzCon 2019 announcement of Overwatch 2 as premature.","Kaplan said management prioritized Overwatch 2 so that new heroes were not permitted for the original Overwatch.","Kaplan said management asked for heroes to be sold for money, which he resisted.","Kaplan left Blizzard in 2021 after 19 years and founded the indie studio Kintsugiyama."],"pageLinks":{"healthSlugs":["overwatch","overwatch-2","blizzard-entertainment"],"storySlugs":[],"entities":[{"slug":"overwatch","supported":1,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":31,"overall":"green","story_count":15,"has_dossier":true},{"slug":"overwatch-2","supported":0,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":0,"overall":"unverified","story_count":1,"has_dossier":false},{"slug":"blizzard-entertainment","supported":4,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":11,"overall":"green","story_count":18,"has_dossier":true}],"stories":[],"entitiesOk":true,"storiesOk":true}}