What Jeff Kaplan has said about Crunch (video game industry)

1 quote · 1 episode · Mar 11, 2026

Jeff Kaplan, American video game designer known for World of Warcraft and Overwatch at Blizzard Entertainment; co-founder of Kintsugiyama, has been quoted on Crunch (video game industry) once in 1 episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, most recently on March 11, 2026. Each quote below is verbatim and links to the moment it was said.

In their words

Kaplan argues crunch is problematic when forced and that executives working 40-hour weeks should not impose it, though he personally chose long hours.
“I don't think executives who take off and work 40 hour a week should be telling anybody that. I think that's wrong and immoral”
Lex Fridman Podcast: #493 – Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming (Mar 11, 2026) · Listen from 1:54:53

Episodes

#493 – Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming
Lex Fridman Podcast · Mar 11, 2026
Former Blizzard designer Jeff Kaplan tells Lex Fridman about his path from failed writer and EverQuest player to World of Warcraft, Titan, Overwatch, and his new studio's game.

Jeff Kaplan on other topics

The Legend of California · 2 quotes
Blizzard Entertainment · 2 quotes
Titan (cancelled video game) · 2 quotes
Online toxicity · 2 quotes
Quest-driven game design · 2 quotes
Artificial intelligence · 1 quote
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild · 1 quote
Overwatch League · 1 quote