The main hero designer behind Overwatch’s huge roster of characters — and those who will be in the upcoming sequel — has left Blizzard, the company confirmed to PC Gamer.
Geoff Goodman “made the decision to leave Blizzard earlier this year,” a Blizzard spokesperson said. Goodman’s last public appearance was in a group interview (opens in new tab) with press in June.
Blizzard issued a statement regarding Goodman’s departure:
“We thank Geoff for his many years of service at Blizzard and wish him all the best. His ability to bring Overwatch’s diverse roster of heroes to life through gameplay is incredible, and the mark he has left on the Warcraft and Overwatch franchises. teams will be felt for years to come.”
Goodman’s history with Overwatch goes all the way back to before it was known as Overwatch, when the team was still working on the Titan project. Titan was canceled and resurrected (opens in new tab) in the team-based hero shooter launched in 2016. Outside of the game’s former director, Jeff Kaplan, who left Blizzard in 2021 (opens in new tab)Goodman was one of the few faces of Overwatch, often asked to discuss balance changes and new heroes in interviews and events.
Goodman helped design major reworks for Doomfist and Orisa, new heroes Sojourn (opens in new tab) and Junker Queen (opens in new tab)and likely had a hand in several of the game’s upcoming heroes, including new support hero Kiriko (opens in new tab).
While no reason was given as to why Goodman left, it comes after a string of high-profile Blizzard departures in the build-up and aftermath of the lawsuit. (opens in new tab) filed last year by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing for harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Overwatch’s executive producer Chacko Sonny left the company in 2021 (opens in new tab) and producer Tracy Kennedy left last September (opens in new tab).
Speaking about the turmoil at Blizzard in a group interview with PC Gamer in April, Goodman said the team made sure everyone was in a “good place” and feeling “safe” before getting back to work on the game. “It seems like everyone, you know, much happier now and things are moving forward. But I think it’s still there and still sticking around. It’s definitely a morale hit.”
Overwatch 2’s free launch in October is just around the corner, but some fans of the original game are baffled at what will change in the sequel. The game recently detailed its seasonal battle pass model (opens in new tab) and how it will lock down every new hero behind tier 55 (out of 80) of the free track. In a group interview with PC Gamer last week, Overwatch general manager Walter Kong said that “heroes are the most engaging content we have in the game,” and that “putting those heroes in our game seemed like a very good match.” .” new engagement systems.”
Overwatch 2 launches and replaces the original game (opens in new tab) on October 4.