Half a decade after his departure from Blizzard, the renowned game director is marking his return to the industry.
Jeff Kaplan, the visionary behind the original Overwatch, has recently re-emerged into the spotlight. In a wide-ranging discussion with Lex Fridman, he officially pulled back the curtain on his latest venture.
Kaplan’s comeback project is titled “The Legend of California,” an ambitious first-person multiplayer survival shooter. Set against the backdrop of a reimagined Gold Rush era, the game takes place on a fictionalized island version of California.
Players will immerse themselves in quintessential survival mechanics: traversing vast landscapes, scavenging for vital resources, and mastering a deep crafting system. The gameplay loop encourages building personal legacies, from operating productive mines to establishing sprawling ranches and stables.
A unique aspect of the game involves procedural difficulty scaling. Kaplan illustrated this using the “Mojave Desert” as an example: on one server, it might function as a forgiving starting zone, while on another, it could pose a lethal challenge for veteran players.
You can now add “The Legend of California” to your Steam wishlist here. Furthermore, the development team has officially opened registration for those interested in participating in upcoming playtests.
Source: iXBT.games