Jeff Kaplan's Final Message Harkens Back to Talon Hacker
By Jack O'Dwyer
Jeff Kaplan's retirement from Overwatch and Blizzard Entertainment as a whole marked the end of an era for fans the world over. Long-time players would likely have no problem recalling the narratives and details he helped to shape in some of their favorite games like World of Warcraft, Diablo, and beyond.
Jeff Kaplan Sends Final Message to Sombra VA
Kaplan's last message was a single e-mail sent to Carolina Ravassa, the voice actress for Overwatch's popular Talon technological mastermind, Sombra. The e-mail contained no subject, no heading, greeting, or sign-off—only one word: "boop."
Ravassa posted a screencap of the message to her Instagram on Saturday, April 24.
"It's the little things that make me smile... thank you #JeffKaplan for giving us this world worth fighting for," she wrote.
Fans likely already know what this is in reference to, but for those unaware, we'll gladly explain. Sombra's first major cinematic appearance took place in an Overwatch short titled "Infiltration." As the story unfolded, she took advantage of the situation and her Talon teammates to make "friends" with Katya Volskaya—CEO of Volskaya industries. The two were able to strike a deal and, as a quick goodbye, Sombra reached out and "boop-ed" the other woman on the nose with one finger before disappearing.
She later boop-ed the screen to shut off the image and conclude the short.
As both actions were shorthand for goodbye, it only makes sense that Kaplan would capitalize on the sentimental meaning.