Jeff Kaplan (OW director, former WoW director) leaves Blizzard

[Houle]

and another one bites the dust.
is there even anyone left from the old blizzard?
dreamhaven looking better and better on the other hand

[lockybalboa]

Because it fits in the OW forums, not the VG forums. There's no secret motivation, just putting things where they go.

Alright fair enough. My bad.

[TidalConflux]

Maybe OW will actually get better now.

[Deferionus]

Ethically better companies?

All companies are money whoring pieces of shit. Doesn't matter if it is a mega corp with a 100 floor HQ in the big city or some mom and pop store down the street. They all want the money and will do what they need to to get as much of it as humanly possible. Capitalism 101.

If any company is being ethical it's because it needs to be for a temporarily amount of time. But put a few extra $$$ in their way they'll change their tune.

You've obviously never heard of cooperatives and non profits contest this as well.

[oplawlz]

Ethically better companies?

All companies are money whoring pieces of shit. Doesn't matter if it is a mega corp with a 100 floor HQ in the big city or some mom and pop store down the street. They all want the money and will do what they need to to get as much of it as humanly possible. Capitalism 101.

If any company is being ethical it's because it needs to be for a temporarily amount of time. But put a few extra $$$ in their way they'll change their tune.

Oooh, edgy marxism, welcome to the 1920's! Down with the bourgeoisie!

OT: Good for him. Hopefully he'll move on to a company that better facilitates him in creating awesome player-first games.

[Relapses]

The year is 2031.

"After developing a MMO to finally topple Blizzard's tentpole "World of Warcraft," megapublisher Activision purchases Dreamhaven..."

[ahshitherewegoagain.jpg]

[Val the Moofia Boss]

RIP Overwatch

He was very charismatic, and he gave off the impression that he was listening to the playerbase. The new Overwatch director is almost certainly going to get slammed hard like Hazzikostas and Brack for not being able to live up to his predecessor.

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At this point, I think the only big name that is still left at Blizzard is Samwise Didier (the guy who did most of the iconic art and character designs, like Illidan or Pandaren and Orcs, etc), but the last thing he worked on was Heroes of the Storm, which went into maintenance mode years ago, so IDK what he's actually doing anymore.

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And I guess there is Russell Brower, the WoW composer, but the last Blizzard game he really composed for was the Legion expansion. Starting with BFA, he just does the music for the cutscenes.

[DarkAmbient]

Lol, thread moved to a dead forum. Kaplan left Blizzard, he wasn't just moved from the Overwatch team.


Anyway... huge news and yet another of the OGs abandons ship. But I'm sure everything is fine at Blizzard...

[Nyel]

Ion is not in charge. People need to get off the horse that the game director is the head honcho in producing a game. Producers are above directors and executive producer when making a game is pretty much as high as you get before you enter the corporate part of it.

John Hight is the person you want to look at and he's been lead producer since starting work on MoP.

He is in charge for WoW‘s gameplay and how new features and systems are brought into the game. Your financial manager in a suit doesn’t dictate how game systems work. He might tell you they have to increase income / MAU, but the final decision on how to design and implement something is Ion‘s. And in that regard he is massively failing since Legion. He‘s the one who’s to blame for WoW‘s downfall in BfA and now Shadowlands.

[Samuraijake]

Incoming Dreamhaven announcement lol

this

10 chars

[Druantis]

Gotta love when bloodsucking ko-tick cuts jobs and experienced employees solely to get himself yearly bonuses, eventually destroying the company and I guarantee taking absolutely no responsibility, then when the company inevitably declines and when threatened with removal by the board using his "proven success" to move on to another position at another company and doing the same.

As if it takes any skill to cut jobs and force out the higher-paid employees who got the company where it is, just to hire fewer and less expensive and less talented (have not invested the mandatory required 10,000 hours into building their creativity/skill sets yet) who don't argue or stand by their experienced opinion, and put in more hours.

CEOs should only get bonuses let alone keep their jobs if they add continuing value -- as in keeping all those who actually contribute to the initial and ongoing success of the company while growing revenue at the same time. Not cutting expenses while simultaneously increasing profit requires real skill and talent -- and should be mandatory for any President, CEO, or CFO to justify even just keeping their position.

Neither of which he has. This is why these inbred sociopath "leaders" are interchangeable and constantly move between companies they have absolutely no background in or understanding of.

In before but muh capitalism etc...

Oh, and if you actually try to disagree, explain how if a CEO's main job is to cut costs/expenses, why isn't bobby also cutting the wasted expense of his yearly bonus to make the company even more profitable for shareholders?

[Zuben]

I don't think OW is compromised with Jeff gone, there's still a lot of people well affiliated with the game's development; they'll keep on making the game as they would with Jeff around. I feel I will enjoy OW2 as much as I ever did OW1. I'm just worried the suits will get their way and the game will be riddled with monetization. Right now I've paid for the base game and upgraded it when it was on sale (really wanted that Commander Morrison skin), then I've spent some money on OWL skins when I didn't have credits from actually watching OWL. Not once on lootboxes, as the game is already generous enough with those.

Considering how much entertainment I've gotten out of the game I'd say I've spent a fair amount. The monetization is in a form where I don't feel like I'm required to engage to get full enjoyment out of the game, but I do occasionally anyway, no big deal. I fear this will change in OW2. I doubt Jeff had any power to prevent that.

[sam86]

Ion is not in charge.

i doubt he is, but he 100% keep saying that bullshit talk, get me a single time he claimed he isn't
it doesn't make sense since everything he does is almost contradicting his own opinions about how to improve wow back when he was guild master and raider, but if someone shoved a hand in his ass way up to his mouth and moving it to say he is in charge, i can't claim it is someone else until he actually says whose hand is up his ass