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flag Jeff Kaplan left Blizzard in 2021 due to pressure from Activision to meet unattainable revenue goals for the Overwatch League, which he said harmed game development and team morale.

flag Jeff Kaplan, former Overwatch director, revealed in a 2024 podcast interview that intense pressure from Activision Blizzard leadership, including demands for specific revenue targets tied to the Overwatch League, led to his departure in 2021. flag He described a pivotal meeting where he was told to meet unattainable profit goals or face 1,000 layoffs, calling it a "biggest f**k you moment." flag Kaplan said the focus on monetization and esports drained resources from game development, undermining creativity and team morale. flag He left Blizzard after nearly two decades, later launching a new open-world game set during California’s gold rush. flag Overwatch 2 has since dropped the "2," rebranded as free-to-play, and will launch on Switch 2 later this year.

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