IT House reported on March 14 that on March 13, local time, foreign media Engadget reported that Jeff Kaplan, the former director of "Overwatch" who had remained silent for a long time after leaving Blizzard, has now returned to the public eye. A game designer who once served as Blizzard's vice president, he's back with a new studio and a new project that players will soon be able to get their hands on.
The new game "The Legend of California" (IT House Note: Literally translated as "Legend of California") is an open-world action survival shooting game with an overall style similar to the combination of "Red Dead Redemption" and "Rust". The background of the game is set during the gold rush period, and the development team did not strictly pursue historical restoration. For example, California in the game is set as an island. However, the team still hopes that the overall atmosphere can reflect the "sense of the times."
Cowboys and gold diggers will appear in the game world. Players can hunt, build mines and stables, craft weapons and tools, manage their own homes, and attack enemy camps. The game offers four difficulty levels of PvE content, as well as optional PvP battles. Players can form a team with up to three friends to share resources, buildings and game progress.
Kaplan said that the world was hand-crafted by a team of 34 people, and the map still contains certain random mechanisms. For example, areas like the Mojave Desert may become novice areas or endgame areas in different servers.
The locations of certain iconic locations will also randomly change, such as the Alcatraz-inspired fortress, which may appear in an area similar to the San Francisco Bay Area in some maps, or in the snowy mountains in others.
The Legend of California is published by Dreamhaven. Dreamhaven was founded by Blizzard co-founder Mike Mohan. The game is expected to be released in early access on Steam and the Epic Games Store later this year, and closed alpha testing will begin soon.
Kaplan's way of announcing new games is also quite unique. The news wasn't revealed at the game's launch event, but instead was revealed during a five-hour interview on Lex Friedman's podcast. In the interview, Kaplan recalled his experience in developing "World of Warcraft", being responsible for "Overwatch" and participating in the "Titan" project.
Kaplan also publicly explained for the first time why he left Blizzard. Kaplan has worked at Blizzard for 19 years and had no plans to leave. However, the commercial pressure surrounding the Overwatch League and Overwatch 2 is gradually increasing. Kaplan revealed that at a meeting in 2020, Blizzard's chief financial officer said that if "Overwatch" did not reach the established revenue target, the company would lay off 1,000 employees, and the responsibility would be borne by Kaplan.
