When the original Overwatch debuted almost a decade ago, the game encounter some pushback over Tracer’s victory pose, which some claimed over-sexualized her and placed too much emphasis on her butt. Blizzard subsequently apologized and reworked Tracer’s pose. Now, former Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan has weighed in on the issue and declared that Tracer’s butt was never nerfed.
Kaplan was asked about the issue while streaming his new game, The Legend of California, via IGN. In response, Kaplan said “we actually didn’t nerf Tracer’s butt. It stayed exactly the same.”
Blizzard recently ran into a similar issue and promised to rework the design of Anran, a new female hero whose face was met by a negative reaction from players because she looked too similar to other characters. Earlier this this month, Blizzard unveiled a new facial design for Anran, which emphasizes her maturity over youth and increased her resemblance to her brother, Wuyang.
In 2021, Kaplan left Activision Blizzard while Overwatch 2 was still in development. More recently, Kaplan opened up about his departure and shared that it happened after he felt pressured by an executive to deliver high revenue or else thousands of people at Blizzard were in danger of being laid off. Kaplan told YouTube host Lex Fridman that it was “the biggest f–k you moment I’ve had in my career–it felt surreal to be in that condition.”
During his Legend of California stream, Kaplan also weighed in on players who criticize games without actually playing them.
“I understand being upset, and I understand voicing your opinion,” said Kaplan. “But if a game comes out and you don’t want to play it, and you never played it–shut the f*** up!”
The Legend of California doesn’t currently have a release date.