Things will never be the same for Overwatch fans now that Jeff Kaplan has announced he is leaving Blizzard after almost 20 years. Why Jeff!!!?? Why!!??
The legendary developer has heavily influenced big projects like World of Warcraft, Titan (a game that was never released), and of course Overwatch. But he will be equally remembered for his witty comments, memorable verbal smackdowns and other heart-warming moments, all of which are immortalised on the Internet.
As a tribute to the great man, we give you our five best Jeff Kaplan moments. Enjoy them over a glass of milk and pineapple pizza.
Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
- “The punishment for playing widowmaker? Defeat.”
Talk about savage. Nothing beats a game developer dissing his own character at the game’s convention. From nerfing Widowmaker to being nerfed out of Blizzard, Jeff Kaplan’s humour and insight left Widowmaker mains crying in the corner for days. I guess players finally have an excuse to not escort the payload.
Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
- “I am the world’s best Genji but my teammates are holding me back.”
Another epic moment from the 2016 Blizzcon, was when Jeff (or Jeph) roasted the toxic players of Overwatch. The lovable developer even joked that in the new 1v1 mode of “mystery duel” -which allows players to fight 1v1 as the same hero- players would still find a way to blame the game development. He really knew his community inside out!
Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
- Did anyone get the milk?
An absolutely wholesome moment. Nothing says wholesome like Jeff Kaplan getting milk to eat with his cookies. Let’s not forget that this iconic moment took place during an eight-hour stream of him just chilling by the fire. What an absolute legend.
Credit: WIRED
- Pineapple on pizza?
Who knew that the diverse variety of Overwatch characters had a common love for pineapples on pizza? Well, Jeff did! The funny response finally laid to rest the unending internet debate on whether pineapples should be on pizzas – well at least in the world of Overwatch.
Credit: Jeff Kaplan
- Jeff lays the smackdown
The most and last epic moment has to be when Jeff responded to a complaint by a player on the Battle.net forums. The player complained about being banned for a week and Jeff decided to investigate. Jeff did some digging and the developer found 2,247 complaints against the player and decided to publicly defend the ban while also subtly flaming the player for his toxicity.
This is Jeff from the Overwatch team… signing out.
