New Overwatch 2 Map Includes a Tribute to Jeff Kaplan

Blizzard's latest Overwatch 2 breakdown features not one, but two Jeff Kaplan tributes in the game's new New York map. Blizzard previewed new Overwatch 2 content today and you can read IGN's breakdown of everything revealed during the stream, including the new maps, gameplay changes, and more, but eagle-eyed fans spotted two tributes to Kaplan, Overwatch 2's former director. Kaplan left last month after nearly 20 years at Blizzard, but now his legacy will live forever in Overwatch 2. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/20/overwatch-2-toronto-push-gameplay"] As originally reported by Polygon, Overwatch 2's New York map features two tributes to Kaplan. In order to understand these two tributes, though, you have to be familiar with a fairly innocuous tweet from 2017. Jeremy Craig, a former lead feature designer for Overwatch, tweeted a photo of Kaplan with a Starbucks coffee cup in his hand that reads "Jeph," as you can see below.

Starbucks opened on campus today. This made my morning. pic.twitter.com/lDDiVpaGBm

— Jeremy Craig (@Jaerock83) May 12, 2017

Near the hour and a half mark of Blizzard's nearly four-hour Overwatch 2 PvP developer livestream, the team debuted a preview trailer of the New York map and when passing through a subway train, the camera pans past a coffee cup with the name "Jeph" written on it. The next Kaplan tribute appears in the very next scene of the preview — it's a pizza shop called "Jephs" corner pizza. You can check that out below. As Polygon points out, it makes sense that the Kaplan tributes are in the New York map because he obtained his Master's Degree from New York University. Who knows what other Kaplan tributes are hidden throughout Overwatch 2. While waiting for Overwatch 2 to come out, catch up on everything announced during today's developer livestream and then read about how PvP will no longer be 6v6 and will instead be 5v5. Check out this 5v5 New York map gameplay after that and then watch the first footage from the game's new Rome map. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.