Jeffrey Kaplan, better known as Jeff Kaplan and whose alias is Tigole, is Vice President of Blizzard Entertainment and Game Director for Overwatch. He began working at Blizzard in May 2002 towards the end of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos development, which he tested extensively. Kaplan was responsible for the world design (quests, outdoor zones, dungeons, raids, etc.) for World of Warcraft, on which he worked closely with Chris Metzen and Pat Nagle. In February 2009 Kaplan announced that he was stepping down as director for World of Warcraft to switch his role at Blizzard. He previously worked on the unannounced, unnamed massive-multiplayer online game in production at Blizzard Entertainment, code-named Titan. With the cancellation of Project Titan, Kaplan became the game director for Overwatch.
Kaplan was hired by Blizzard Entertainment because of his former status as the leader of a guild in EverQuest known as Legacy of Steel. The guild was formerly run by Rob Pardo (another game designer at Blizzard Entertainment) and was well known in the EverQuest community for its accomplishments in the game. Kaplan was also known at the time for his various commentaries about EverQuest posted on the website of said guild. He is also known for his use of dry humor among Blizzard fans and the industry.