Today marks the end of an era, with Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan officially announcing his departure from Blizzard Entertainment after almost 20 years spent with the legendary studio. Though Kaplan has been the face of Overwatch since the game’s release, Blizzard has confirmed that Overwatch 2 is still in development, with Blizzard vet and ‘founding member’ of the Overwatch team Aaron Keller stepping in to replace Kaplan as game director.

Blizzard took to its Playoverwatch website today to announce to the community that Jeff Kaplan has decided to exit the company. In the blog post, Blizzard relays a personal note from Kaplan that brings with it a heartfelt message to his fans and his colleagues. “I am leaving Blizzard Entertainment after 19 amazing years,” Kaplan’s message reads.

It was truly the honor of a lifetime to have the opportunity to create worlds and heroes for such a passionate audience. I want to express my deep appreciation to everyone at blizzard who supported our games, our game teams and our players. but I want to say a special thanks to the wonderful game developers that shared in the journey of creation with me. Never accept the world as it appears to be. always dare to see it for what it could be. I hope you do the same.”

Elsewhere in the post, the newly appointed Overwatch game director Aaron Keller says a few words about Jeff Kaplan, wishing his friend and mentor luck as he steps into the unknown. “Jeff’s been a great leader, mentor, and friend, and he knows how much we’re going to miss him,” reads part of Keller’s message. “I’ve been lucky to work alongside him and the rest of the Overwatch team for many years in building something that continues to inspire people all around the world, and I’m honored to carry the torch forward. ”

While I have no pretenses about filling Jeff’s shoes, I’m excited to step into the game director role and continue to be part of a team that’s putting all of its heart, talent, and focus into the next iteration of Overwatch, and I’m honored to continue serving this incredible community.”

Aaron Keller goes on to note that development on Overwatch 2 progressing smoothly. “We have an exceptional vision we’re executing on, the reaction from many of you to the updates we shared at BlizzConline thrilled us, and we have exciting reveals planned for this year and beyond as we ramp to launch,” said Keller. “We’ll be sharing more frequent updates about Overwatch 2 progress and new features in the live game with you all very soon.”

DFTG wishes Jeff Kaplan luck in all his future endeavors! Overwatch 2 is currently in development.

Thoughts on Jeff Kaplan’s departure from Blizzard? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!