Overwatch and The Legend of California lead Jeff Kaplan Tells Players To Shut Up About Games They Don't Play

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Jeff Kaplan Doesnt Mince Words About Your Opinion on Games You Dont Play Shut the Fk Up

Published Mar 16, 2026, 12:55 PM EDT

Covering the video games industry since 2017, with experience in news, articles, lists, and reviews (and I blame The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for that).

If you are a fan of RPGs and want a third-person version: Tayná Garcia is a Brazilian journalist (but you can call her Tay) who ended up working with video games after finishing Zelda: Majora's Mask when she was a kid. With more than eight years of experience in the segment, she has been an assistant editor at Jovem Nerd in the past and is currently a contributor at DualShockers and a writer for gaming magazines for Editora Europa. Oh, and she may like Hideo Kojima a bit too much.

If anyone understands the weight of criticism from people who haven’t even touched a game, it is definitely a multiplayer developer. And Jeff Kaplan, the former director of Overwatch who spent nearly 20 years at Blizzard before his 2021 departure, is no stranger to this – and it seems that he’s finally had enough.

Overwatch Hits a New All Time Peak of Concurrent Players on Steam 1

During a recent 10-hour livestream of his new project, The Legend of California, which appears to be an intriguing blend of Red Dead Redemption and Rust, Kaplan opened up with complete honesty about what he’d like to say to players who offer opinions on projects they haven’t actually played. Safe to say, he didn't hold anything back.

Unfiltered Advice from a Gaming Veteran

Jeff Kaplan Doesnt Mince Words About Your Opinion on Games You Dont Play Shut the Fk Up 2

“If a game comes out and you don't want to play it and you've never played it, shut the f*ck up. No one cares,” Kaplan stated. “Like, we don't need to hear that you weren't into it. What is with this, 'Oh my God, I'm so upset they decided to make this game that I have no interest in'? [...] Who cares about my opinion if I'm not going to play it, and if I've never played it? Why does my opinion matter on that?”

He went on to clarify that if you have actually played the game, having a personal opinion is perfectly fine. However, he questioned why people find it so easy to criticize something they don’t know simply for the sake of being negative: “It's not difficult to sh*t on something. Apparently, it takes a ton of courage to say 'hey, I actually like this thing.’”

Kaplan opened up with complete honesty about what he’d like to say to players who offer opinions on projects they haven’t actually played. Safe to say, he didn't hold anything back.

You can check out that exact moment from the livestream in the post below, shared by game designer Majid Manzarpour on X (formerly Twitter):

This comes right after a recent interview with Jeff Kaplan that has caused quite a stir in the last few days, as he finally revealed the true reason behind his departure from Blizzard in 2021. Following his exit, Overwatch has been led by Aaron Keller, who remains in the director's chair today, overseeing recent changes to the game that have aimed to return to the IP's roots established by Kaplan.