Jeff Kaplan Says The Legend of California Isn’t For Everyone: “Just Play the Game that Makes You Happy”

Jeff Kaplan, formerly a Blizzard executive, recently announced both a new studio and a new game, The Legend of California, which is slated to launch in 2026. Since the game’s launch, the reception has been somewhat mixed, but that seemingly hasn’t dampened the spirits of the studio or its executive. In a recent 10-hour livestream of The Legend of California, Kaplan addressed some of the negative comments he’d seen online, mainly taking aim at players who were criticizing the game, but who he seems to think weren’t the target market in the first place.

The specific demographic that spurred Kaplan’s comments were Overwatch players who have had what he describes as a “nerd rage-out,” and expressing their frustration at Kaplan’s chosen genre, visuals, or game design for The Legend of California. In response to these players, Kaplan said “if a game comes out, and you don’t want to play it, and you’ve never played it, shit the f**k up—no one cares. We don’t need to hear that you aren’t into it.” He goes on to question the reasoning behind players voicing their opinions on a video game they’re never going to play, asking “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?”

His comments echo those made by the likes of Hideo Kojima, who is famous for saying that he’s “not interested in making something for everyone,” and the comments come at a time when many games have been criticized for being too generic in the hopes of casting a wide net and in the process losing their identity or watering down the experience. It’s also worth noting that Overwatch, the project Kaplan is arguably most known for, is in a very different genre to The Legend of California, so, while there are bound to be Kaplan followers who like the new game, it’s likely that the overlap is somewhat limited.

Listen to Kaplan’s full opinion on these criticisms from gamers at around eight hours and 45 minutes into the YouTube video below: