# #493 – Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/lex-fridman-podcast/493-jeff-kaplan-world-of-warcraft-overwatch-blizzard-and-future-of-gaming
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/lex-fridman-podcast/493-jeff-kaplan-world-of-warcraft-overwatch-blizzard-and-future-of-gaming.md
Podcast: [Lex Fridman Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/lex-fridman-podcast)
Published: 2026-03-11T20:37:33+00:00
Episode link: https://lexfridman.com/jeff-kaplan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jeff-kaplan
Audio file: https://media.blubrry.com/takeituneasy/ins.blubrry.com/takeituneasy/lex_ai_jeff_kaplan.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/lex-fridman-podcast/episodes/493-jeff-kaplan-world-of-warcraft-overwatch-blizzard-and-future-of-gaming

## Resource

Jeff Kaplan is a legendary Blizzard game designer of World of Warcraft and Overwatch, now preparing to launch a new game, The Legend of California, from his new studio Kintsugiyama – available to wishlist on Steam today, with alpha later in March. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep493-sc See below for timestamps, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. CONTACT LEX: Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: The Legend of California (Steam Page): https://store.steampowered.com/app/2550530/The_Legend_of_California Jeff’s Game Studio: https://www.kintsugiyama.com/ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Fin: AI agent for customer service. Go to https://fin.ai/lex Blitzy: AI agent for large enterprise codebases. Go to https://blitzy.com/lex BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://betterhelp.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex CodeRabbit: AI-powered code reviews. Go to https://coderabbit.ai/lex Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine. Go to https://perplexity.ai/ OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (02:24) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (10:47) – Early games: Pac-Man, Zork, Doom, Quake (25:12) – Writing career – 170 rejection letters (40:45) – EverQuest obsession (53:43) – Getting hired at Blizzard (1:09:11) – Lowest point in Jeff’s life (1:15:16) – One of Us (1:19:33) – Early Blizzard culture (1:39:…

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