Sadly, Geoff Goodman has left Blizzard after contributing to the design of heroes since the game’s inception
Blizzard confirmed the news to PC Gamer that Geoff Goodman had decided to leave the company “earlier this year” already.
In a statement from Blizzard, they said:
“We thank Geoff for his many years of service at Blizzard and wish him all the best. His ability to bring to life Overwatch’s diverse hero roster through gameplay has been incredible, and the mark he’s left on the Warcraft and Overwatch teams will be felt for years to come.”
Just a few days prior to the introduction of the game’s 35th hero (Kiriko), this unfortunate news was made public.
The development of Overwatch 2 encountered a number of obstacles. Including a lengthy development cycle and the departure of senior developers. In addition, the firm was being sued for sexual harassment and discrimination.
Goodman is the second notable Geoff to depart the Overwatch 2 project, albeit with a different spelling. After nearly 20 years with the studio, Jeff Kaplan, the beloved director of Overwatch 2, left it last year.
Goodman”s Involvement in Overwatch:
Goodman was one of the most well-known Overwatch developers. He will be sorely missed as he was in charge of several significant hero designs and redesigns. Goodman recently worked with the team in June of this year. This is when he responded to concerns from the press concerning the release of Overwatch 2’s newly-added heroes.
Goodman’s involvement with Overwatch dates all the way back to the time when the team was still working on project Titan before it was named Overwatch. After it was shut down, Titan was then revived in the 2016 release of the team-based hero shooter.
Goodman was one of the few faces of Overwatch outside of the game’s former director Jeff Kaplan, who left Blizzard in 2021. He was regularly asked to speak on balancing updates and new heroes in interviews and events.
He also contributed to the redesign of Doomfist and Orisa, the creation of the new heroes Sojourn and Junker Queen, and is likely responsible for a number of the game’s planned heroes Kiriko.
Even though no reason was given for Goodman’s resignation from Blizzard, a number of high-profile personnel had already left the company following the complaint the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed against it for harassment and discrimination last year.
Overwatch 2 Development:
The game described its seasonal battle pass system in a recent update. Each new hero will have a restriction of tier 55 (out of 80) on the free track.
The general manager Walter Kong stated that “heroes are the single most engaging content that we have in the game,” and that “it seemed to be a very strong fit to put those heroes into our new engagement systems.”
This year’s Overwatch 2 will be available for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on October 4.