Former Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan explained how he protects his psyche by completely avoiding online discussions and subreddits about Blizzard's hero shooter.

If you’re a die-hard Overwatch player, you’re likely familiar with the name Jeff Kaplan. He was essentially the face of the game for years, endearing fans with his regular developer updates and memorable interactions with its fanbase.

After leaving Blizzard in 2021, Kaplan founded his own game development studio and is currently working on an open world, action-survival shooter called The Legend of California. He has firmly put Overwatch behind him — to the point where he avoids interacting with it at all costs online.

“With Overwatch, I had a very almost clinical separation, knowing how the WoW thing had gone,” Kaplan said in a recent interview with GameSpot. “I’ve literally not played the game since April 2021.

“I don’t, for my own psyche, I don’t read the subreddits. After I said my goodbye to competitive Overwatch and the Overwatch subreddit, I never go back and read. I don’t watch YouTube [videos]. I don’t search for my name in Overwatch. I don’t search for Overwatch. I sort of just disconnect. I actually tell all the algorithms like, ‘Yeah, I’m not really interested in Overwatch anymore. I know you think I’m the Overwatch guy, but like, that’s just not for me anymore.'”

He told the outlet that it was surprisingly more painful for him to leave the World of Warcraft team to work on Overwatch than it was to put the hero shooter in his rear view, calling it a “training moment” for taking the next step in his career.

“WoW was who I was at that point,” he explained. “I worked every minute, every waking minute, on WoW. If I wasn’t working on WoW, I was playing WoW. And every time I played WoW, I had this notepad next to the desk that I’d be filling out to walk in the next morning and go, ‘These are all the things we need to change.’ It was kind of shocking in a very negative emotional way to step away from WoW, because it was such a part of who I was and how I identified. It was who I was as a game developer.”

After learning the hard way that the games he worked on didn’t belong to him, but were instead an IP under Blizzard’s ownership, it was easier for him to move forward.

“Overwatch happened. I was a part of it. There’s a group there now, and Overwatch is now about them. Both the players and the developers, that’s their Overwatch now. They’re making it, they own it, they play it. I’m onto this new thing, and that’s where I’m at in my life,” he said.

Kaplan hasn’t shied away from sharing his thoughts on the current gaming industry since making his exit from Blizzard almost half a decade ago. Most recently, he had some harsh words for players who complain about games they’ll never actually play.

"If a game comes out, and you don't want to play it, and you've never played it? Shut the f*** up. No one cares,” he said.

And in March, he revealed the reason why he actually left Blizzard behind, describing a specific meeting that he called “the biggest f*** you moment I had in my career.”

Image Credits: James Sheppard/Edge Magazine/Future via Getty Images

A pro Dota 2 player is claiming that he had to play a full Dota match in front of police officers to prove his identity.

According to Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon, who currently plays hard carry for Xipto eSports, the team’s boot camp in Kuala Lumpur was raided by police earlier this week. In a post to Facebook on Tuesday, 23savage describes the police placing the team in handcuffs and confiscating their belongings.

The officers proceeded to interrogate the players about why they were in the city and whether they were really pro players. According to 23savage, one of the officers was familiar with Dota, and was willing to scroll the player’s Instagram for proof of his pro career.

A photo 23savage had recently posted of himself and popular Malaysian influencer Ms. Puiyi was, according to the post, somewhat acceptable evidence. Enough evidence, in fact, for the police officers to remove his handcuffs and test what really mattered: how good he is at defending the ancients.

23savage proceeded to start up a Dota match right in front of the police officers, dropping 32 kills as the hard carry Kez. The Dota player alleges that this was enough proof to convince the officers to let the team go, and also that they stole two jars of Nutella on their way out.

Commenters on the post quickly doubted 23savage’s claims, presuming the post to be a joke, but 23savage has been actively defending his story in the replies. Reddit users continue to doubt the hard carry player, while others jokingly claim 23savage’s story is saving Valve’s MOBA.

The incident doesn’t seem to have had much impact on Xipto, who have been climbing the ranks of SEA Dota. The team recently won the EPL SEA tournament without losing a single series, achieving an impressive 10-match win streak. The team’s full roster currently consists of 23savage (Carry), inYourdreaM (Mid), Fbz (Offlane), Q (Support), and Oli (Support), who are now competing for a spot in the DreamLeague Season 30 tournament.

Dota 2 itself has been seeing some notable player gains in 2026, having recently hit its peak player count since 2022. The game continues to receive occasional patches and content updates, though Valve's focus is largely now on a new MOBA: Deadlock.

The Galaxies Autumn Showcase 2026 has arrived, and it featured exciting reveals for over 50 games, including Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, The Finals, InZOI, and many more.

As you can see, there were a ton of announcements, so we thought we'd gather all the biggest moments right here to ensure you don't miss a thing! Check them all out, and let us know in the comments below which games you are most excited for!

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC, and the Galaxies Autumn Showcase revealed its launch trailer and now we are even more excited to start playing!

The Finals is gearing up for its Prime Time season on October 20, 2026, and it looks to be the biggest one since launch. Expect remastered arenas, a sharper look, and even "more ways than ever to steal the show."

Clive Barker's Hellraiser Revival is out not on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC, and the game's launch trailer has us terrified in the best ways and excited to experience this survival action horror game developed by Saber Interactive.

Frosthaven has officially launched its Version 1.0 update and players can check out the launch trailer to get a new look at what that means for the tactical turn-based RPG developed by Snapshot Games.

I'd say it's safe to say we'd all love a little penguin friend, and My Penguin Friend looks to make that wish come true by letting us explore the eyes through Dindim, a plucky little bird who lives in a coastal village.

My Penguin Friend is coming soon to PC.

We were given our first look at Encryption, an upcoming first-person horror game where players explore a world that has been decimated by a virus. To seek the truth, players will need to descend into the dangerous lower level of a facility, and we all know that usually doesn't go well.

Appulse is a top-down action arcade pinball shooter that caught our attention, as it tasks players with ensuring the safety of their mothership from enemy robots by earning upgrades, mastering an array or weapons, and surviving an intergalactic war. Sign us up.

Appulse will be available on November 26 on PC, and a demo is available now.

Grab some friends and get ready to feed some monsters in One More Plate!, an upcoming co-op physics based party game where you'll have to serve an assortment of plates and shapes to hungry monsters!

One More Plate! will be released on PC on November 10, 2026.

We love our soulslikes here at IGN, and Guns of Eschaton looks to be a unique take on the genre by setting it in an apocalyptic Western world. Oh, and it's in first person and is an action shooter.

Guns of Eschaton will be release on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on December 8, 2026.

Ancestors: The Humankin Odyssey will be making its way to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on December 8, and will let players explore the age before humanity with some new additions like documentary-style narration, a photo mode, and quality of life improvements. PC players, you'll also get this upgrade on December 8.

Lelu, the upcoming action-adventure monochromatic exploration game developed by Jamierowan, will be coming to Nintendo Switch 2 and PC on January 21, 2027. Get ready to become a concious clockwork toy who's ready for a taste of freedom.

Mega Man X fans should take note of Gravity Circuit 2, the upcoming 2D action platformer sequel developed by Domesticated Ant Games. As a new Ark emerges, playerrs can embody Gravity or Power Circuit when the game arrives in Spring 2027. To help with the wait, a demo is now available on Steam.

Steam players can check out the pre-alpha playtest of Voidwood, the upcoming 1-4 co-op survival horror game where proximity voice chat is part of the danger. Players must communicate to survive, but teh Beast is always listening.

Voidwood will be released on PC via Steam in late 2027.

Tinker Island is a multiplayer sandbox set in unique ocean worlds filled with tropical islands, and you can check out a demo of the game right now on Steam.

You can go check out the narrative-driven card battler called Appa right now as a playtest is currently underway. You'll be able to learn more of the game that has you embody two siblings as they make peace with their father's death.

Squad, the tactical FPS that's out now on PC, will be released on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2027. To help with the wait, a free Alpha preview on PS5 is coming soon from October 16 - October 25.

Enjoy a new look at inZOI, the upcoming life simulation game that allows players to live out a "variety of lives to their exact specifications, from raising kids to having fun in the sun."

inZOI is available now in Early Access for Mac and PC, and that period is ending soon.

Take another look at Vaultbreakers and learn all about the Bahra Quest. For those unfamilar, Vaultbreakers is a top-down extraction RPG where players can embark on PvE or PvPvE adventures.

Those interested can jump into an alpha test on Steam from today, October 15, through October 21.

The latest look at Stuntman: Hollywood gives us a look at some exciting Knight Rider gameplay and reveals more of the game where you play "perform explosive scenes inspired by blockbuster movies, defy danger, and drift your way to stardom."

Come check out some new gameplay for Elta: Defy All Gods and then go play the demo yourself right now. In this game, players will fight through a variety of sci-fi worlds in free-form melee combat in an effort to become the ultimate champion of the fallen god, Elta.

Elta: Defy All Gods will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on February 2, 2027.

Train Sim World 7 is getting a big update with new routes, classic trains, and much more. Train Sim World Sim 7 is out now on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5. Players who are curious about the game can try out Train Sim World 7: Free Edition right now as well.

The Galaxies Autumn Showcase helped reveal AfterZero: The Last Drive, an upcoming survival driving adventure game where players have to solve puzzles and make sense of a reality-altering mystery by navigating the extremely cold conditions of an everlasting winter.

Check out a new look at Deperson, a psychological horror adventure game where players will need to traverse abstract worlds, solve puzzles, and confront deep truths along the way.

Learn more about Act III: The Man of When Sirens Fall Silent in this latest trailer. In this game, you'll play as a determined policewoman in early 1990s Italy who is thrust into a high-profile case of kidnappings and murders.

Get a new look at Agni: Village of Calamity, the upcoming cinematic survival horror game that combines mind-bending terror and ritual strangeness with Indonesian slasher style violence.

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