Overwatch 2 lead hero designer leaves Blizzard, report says

Overwatch lead hero designer Geoff Goodman reportedly left Blizzard sometime this year, a spokesperson confirmed to PC Gamer. As part of the Overwatch 2 developer team, Goodman was responsible for designing Tracer, Mercy, and D. Va.

Along with former game director Jeff Kaplan, who departed in 2021, Goodman was among the few faces who built Overwatch from scrap. He had been involved with the game since it was a canceled work titled project Titan, which was then revived in 2016 to become the popular team-based online FPS shooter game.

Goodman helped with major balance reworks on Doomfist and Orisa as well as the newer heroes—Sojourn and Junker Queen. It is likely that he also had worked on some of Overwatch’s upcoming heroes before he left.

“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,” Blizzard told PC Gamer.

Goodman’s career at Blizzard

Goodman is well-known by the Overwatch community. He appeared at various events to answer countless questions regarding the game’s heroes. His last appearance with the company was in a group interview with the press this June when he appeared alongside game director Aaron Keller. They were discussing two new heroes, namely Sojourn and Junker Queen.

With almost 40 total playable heroes, Goodman said that a “production issue” followed the game’s growing roster. Regardless, Goodman said the team planned to keep making more heroes.

“That’s honestly something we talk about all the time. There’s obviously a lot of production issues, like how fast can we make heroes and be happy with them and make something we really like. But also, there’s other questions like, well, let’s look at ourselves 10 years from now, how big should the roster actually be?” he said.

“There’s a lot of different games that handle it in different ways, and I think a lot of that is just whatever feels right for the game. So as long as people are playing the game and loving it and wanting your heroes we’re definitely down to make more. If we end up in a situation and we have 150 heroes at the end of the day and people are still jazzed to play and we feel like we can still make really cool heroes then we’ll keep going.”

Goodman’s reason to depart from the company remains unclear. However, multiple sources have tied it to the aftermath of a lawsuit against Blizzard, which alleged the Irvine-based company of sexual harassment and discrimination. The suit was filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing last year.

Aside from Goodman and Kaplan, two other names also had left the company. Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny and producer Tracy Kennedy departed in 2021.

Goodman said the lawsuit and the departures of key people had left a “morale hit” on other Blizzard employees.

“It seems to be everyone’s, you know, much happier now and things are going forward. But I think it’s it’s still there and still lingers. It’s definitely a morale hit,” Goodman said.