Jeff Kaplan: 'Shut the f**k up' about games you won't play

Last week, former Blizzard vice president and game designer Jeff Kaplan made his first public appearance since leaving the World of Warcraft and Overwatch developer in 2021, revealing his independent game studio, Kintsugiyama, and its upcoming frontier survival game, The Legend of California.

Days later, Kaplan streamed a ten-hour session of a pre-alpha build and used the downtime to speak plainly about hostile online reactions to new games. 'I understand voicing your opinion,' he said. 'But like, if a game comes out and you don't want to play it and you've never played it, shut the fuck up.

No one cares. We don't need to hear that you weren't into it.' Kaplan acknowledged he had 'given it out at times' in the past—pointing to his own harsh EverQuest critiques—but noted those were directed at games he'd actually played. He dismissed much of the present 'nerd baby rage' as not worth engaging, saying certain forums are simply on ignore.

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