Jeff Kaplan’s Indie Pivot: From AAA Icon to Kintsugiyama’s ‘Humbling’ Reality
Former Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan has transitioned from a high-profile AAA role to leading a 33-person indie studio, Kintsugiyama, where he faces significant industry isolation. Kaplan describes the shift as 'humbling,' noting that peers who once sought his attention now ignore his emails. His new studio, co-founded with Tim Ford, operates entirely on developer-led decisions, rejecting corporate interference. The team is currently developing The Legend of California, a grounded open-world game inspired by Kaplan’s upbringing in California and his father’s love of Westerns. After a recent alpha test revealed server concurrency issues, the team pushed their release timeline to 2027 to ensure quality. Kaplan emphasizes that while they lack the resources of major publishers, they aim to prove that passionate developers, rather than corporate structures, create the best games. He maintains a strict separation from his past work, refusing to engage with Overwatch content to protect his mental health and focus on his new venture.
