TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
Overwatch League was instrumental in sending Overwatch off the rails.
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Overwatch co-creator Jeff Kaplan was the public face of Overwatch before he left Activision-Blizzard in 2021. If you were interested in videogames between 2014 and 2021, it's likely you'll recognise his face. In a new interview on the Lex Fridman podcast, Kaplan details for the first time how and why he left Activision-Blizzard, and it's not pretty.
The way Kaplan explains it, the good ship Overwatch started to buckle when unreasonable expectations were placed on the Overwatch League, a hugely hyped esports league founded in 2017 and closed in 2024.
"Where it got away from us is that there was a lot of excitement about Overwatch League, like too much," Kaplan said. "It got overmarketed to the people buying the teams. They went on this roadshow where they had a deck—and you can put anything in a deck, and sell anything—and they were pretty much selling the Brooklyn Bridge, that Overwatch League was going to be more popular than the NFL."
It got to a point where commitments made to Overwatch League and its "billionaire investors" started to interfere with work on Overwatch itself, or at least, the part of it the public played. This included the development of Twitch integration, spectator camera control, as well as skins in the form of team uniforms. In other words, the money people kept promising features that soaked up development resources.
"And so all your plans [for Overwatch content] at that point kinda go out the window," Kaplan said. "You're not working on new world events, you're not focused on Overwatch 2, you're just treading water."
Kaplan also describes how when Activision-Blizzard wasn't able to meet certain investor expectations with Overwatch League, the onus would be placed on the dev team to make good. "I don't know how to phrase this in a way that's not damning, but there was too much focus on 'let's make lots of money really fast' and a lot of people got drawn into it," Kaplan said.
Eventually it wasn't just Activision and Blizzard who had financial stakes in Overwatch, but many other investors, all of whom started to express their opinion.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
"Originally the business model was going to be that they [Overwatch League] were going to do in-person events, and ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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GamesRadar+
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Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Overwatch co-creator Jeff Kaplan was the public face of Overwatch before he left Activision-Blizzard in 2021. If you were interested in videogames between 2014 and 2021, it's likely you'll recognise his face. In a new interview on the Lex Fridman podcast, Kaplan details for the first time how and why he left Activision-Blizzard, and it's not pretty.
The way Kaplan explains it, the good ship Overwatch started to buckle when unreasonable expectations were placed on the Overwatch League, a hugely hyped esports league founded in 2017 and closed in 2024.
"Where it got away from us is that there was a lot of excitement about Overwatch League, like too much," Kaplan said. "It got overmarketed to the people buying the teams. They went on this roadshow where they had a deck—and you can put anything in a deck, and sell anything—and they were pretty much selling the Brooklyn Bridge, that Overwatch League was going to be more popular than the NFL."
It got to a point where commitments made to Overwatch League and its "billionaire investors" started to interfere with work on Overwatch itself, or at least, the part of it the public played. This included the development of Twitch integration, spectator camera control, as well as skins in the form of team uniforms. In other words, the money people kept promising features that soaked up development resources.
"And so all your plans [for Overwatch content] at that point kinda go out the window," Kaplan said. "You're not working on new world events, you're not focused on Overwatch 2, you're just treading water."
Kaplan also describes how when Activision-Blizzard wasn't able to meet certain investor expectations with Overwatch League, the onus would be placed on the dev team to make good. "I don't know how to phrase this in a way that's not damning, but there was too much focus on 'let's make lots of money really fast' and a lot of people got drawn into it," Kaplan said.
Eventually it wasn't just Activision and Blizzard who had financial stakes in Overwatch, but many other investors, all of whom started to express their opinion.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
"Originally the business model was going to be that they [Overwatch League] were going to do in-person events, and ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?