Online Shooter from Former Overwatch Creator Announced

Sometimes renowned developers return to their beloved craft even after leaving the companies where they built their careers. This is exactly what happened to Jeff Kaplan, who left Blizzard Entertainment back in 2021 and founded his own studio Kintsugiyama. Previously, the game designer led the team that created Overwatch, and now he's dedicating his talents to a Wild West-themed action game called The Legend of California. Although the project largely resembles cooperative survival games, the creators themselves claim it's a multiplayer action-survival game.

The action will take place on the island of California, whose landscapes are inspired by the views of the real state of the same name. The surroundings feature nature, ruins of Catholic missions, and ranches with grazing cattle. It is to these idyllic Red Dead Redemption-style locations that the heroes, gripped by gold fever, arrive. To survive the battle for life and loot, they'll need to chop wood and build cabins, hunt game, descend into dark mines in search of ore, and then defend what they've obtained and built from raiders—in short, do everything typically associated with survival in games. They won't have to do this alone, as they can invite friends to join them.

The core gameplay, according to Kintsugiyama employees, will consist of first-person PvE combat. The arsenal promises to be quite decent—ranging from old muskets, pistols, and bows with arrows to breech-loading firearms and throwing axes. Horseback riding will be complemented by the construction of stables and other utility buildings. But the main feature mentioned in the announcement is the tools for creating custom multiplayer sessions. The developers haven't announced a release date yet but have stated that alpha testing will begin by the end of this month.