#493 – Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming

This comprehensive conversation traces Jeff Kaplan's remarkable journey from a struggling writer receiving 170 rejection letters to becoming one of gaming's most respected figures. Kaplan begins by recounting his early love for video games, from coin-op arcades to text-based adventures like Zork, and his eventual immersion in EverQuest where he logged over 6,000 hours and became leader of an elite guild. His transition from player to developer came through connections made in the game, leading to his hiring at Blizzard where he helped revolutionize MMO design with World of Warcraft's quest-driven leveling system. He discusses the intense work culture at early Blizzard, including grueling 30-hour shifts and the tight-knit team dynamics that produced legendary games. Kaplan details the ambitious but ultimately failed Titan project, which consumed $83 million over seven years before being transformed into Overwatch in a desperate six-week pitch period. He explains Overwatch's design philosophy of having many heroes with distinct abilities rather than few classes with many skills, and how the game became a massive success. The conversation covers the painful business pressures that eventually drove him from Blizzard, including unrealistic revenue demands from executives, and his current work on 'The Legend of California' - an open-world game set in an alternate 1800s California gold rush era. Throughout, Kaplan emphasizes the importance of small creative teams, the dangers of corporate interference in game development, and his philosophy that game creators should 'own the craft' rather than surrendering control to business interests.