Editing Jeff Kaplan (section)

==Story==

Prior to joining [[Blizzard Entertainment]], Kaplan played and modded a number of FPS games, including ''Quake'', ''Doom'', ''Half-Life'', and ''Duke Nukem 3D''. He also got into ''EverQuest'' during this time period. He did not play Blizzard games during this period, as the company was more focused on RTS games during this time.

Kaplan joined [[Blizzard Entertainment]] in May, 2002. He worked as a tester for ''Warcraft III'' as the game neared release. After the game released, he was transferred to work on ''World of Warcraft''. Kaplan has commented that the shift from RTS to MMO was a "natural fit" for his gaming preferences. He worked on quests for the game,<ref name = "KaplanInterview">2016-04-27, [http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-story-of-overwatch-the-complete-jeff-kaplan-in/1100-6439202/ FEATURE ARTICLE
The Story of Overwatch: The Complete Jeff Kaplan Interview]. ''GameSpot'', accessed on 2016-04-27</ref> and later served as the game director.<ref>2014-11-17, [http://overwatch.blizzplanet.com/blog/comments/blizzcon-2014-opening-ceremony-transcript BlizzCon 2014 – Opening Ceremony Transcript]. ''Blizzplanet'', accessed on 2015-03-03</ref> 

Kaplan worked for five years on ''[[Project Titan]]''<ref>2015-03-20, [http://www.polygon.com/2015/3/20/8264313/what-overwatch-didnt-learn-from-titan-and-why-it-could-be-blizzards OVERWATCH: HOW BLIZZARD TURNED ITS BIGGEST FAILURE INTO ITS NEXT GREAT HOPE]. ''Polygon'', accessed on 2015-03-21</ref> before the game's cancellation. In the aftermath, he did work on ''Crossroads'', pitching the 50 classes idea. On the side, he did a "heroes rather than classes" pitch, which became the basis of ''Overwatch''.<ref name = "BlizzproArchives">2017-11-05, [http://overwatch.blizzpro.com/2017/11/05/overwatch-archives-panel/ OVERWATCH ARCHIVES PANEL]. ''Blizzpro'', accessed on 2017-11-19</ref> 

He was a "stakeholder" in the game's animated shorts, and gave feedback on their production.<ref>2016-12-17, [http://overwatch.blizzplanet.com/blog/comments/blizzcon-2016-overwatch-animated-shorts-panel-transcript BlizzCon 2016 Overwatch Animated Shorts Panel Transcript]. ''Blizzplanet'', accessed on 2017-01-07</ref>

After the release of ''Overwatch'', Kaplan and [[Chacko Sonny]] were at loggerheads with Robert Kotick of Activision over further development of the IP. [[Team 4]] had to simultaniously develop content for ''Overwatch'', develop ''[[Overwatch 2]]'' (which was a project dear to Kaplan), and help work on the ever-growing [[Overwatch League]]. Kotick suggested that Team 4 simply hire more people (hundreds even), akin to Activision's ''Call of Duty'' development teams. He also suggested that a new team worked on ''Overwatch 2'' while Team 4 continued to work on ''Overwatch 1'' (or vice versa). In contrast, Kaplan and Sonny believed strongly in the culture they'd built at Team 4, not to mention that more people could lead to more problems and less efficient development. The contention between Kaplan/Sonny and Kotick led to various problems as the years wore on.<ref>2024-09-29, [https://www.reddit.com/r/wow/comments/1fs5nw9/im_jason_schreier_reporter_at_bloomberg_and/ I'm Jason Schreier, reporter at Bloomberg and author of PLAY NICE: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment, AMA]. ''Reddit'', accessed on 2024-09-30</ref> 

Kaplan worked on ''Overwatch 2'', and wanted to make it focused on PvE.<ref name = "PvEPivot">2024-03-23, [https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1771249198307983555 Jason Schreier]. ''X'', accessed on 2024-04-01</ref> Kaplan's departure from Blizzard was announced in April, 2021.<ref name = "NewLeadership"/> [[Aaron Keller]] took his position of game director. On his way out, Kaplan urged his staff not to let business realities overwhelm their creativity.<ref>''Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment'', pg. 306</ref>