It appears that Blizzard has found a new executive producer for Overwatch 2. Jared Neuss will now operate as both executive producer and vice president of the free-to-play shooter, and will report to the franchise’s general manager Walter Kong.
Announcing his new position on LinkedIn, Neuss wrote that “[Overwatch] hooked me immediately with its hopeful view of the future. […] To have the opportunity to support this incredibly talented team, and this legendary studio, as they transition into a new, brighter future is a dream come true for me.”
Before Neuss’ hiring, Overwatch 2 lost its original EP, Chacko Sonny, in late 2021. At the time, his leaving was explained as wanting a break from the franchise (which he’d been a part of since 2016). He’s since moved on to head up Netflix’s game development studio in California.
Shooters and live service games are a large part of Neuss’ resume. Prior to joining Blizzard, he was a senior producer on both 343 Industries’ Halo 5: Guardians and Bungie’s Destiny 2. He also served as a director of production at Riot Games, where he worked on League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics, along with the developer’s still in-progress MMORPG.
The arrival of Neuss is another part of Overwatch 2’s eventful opening month. At launch, the game was beset by multiple DDOS attacks that hampered the ability to play the game. Further exacerbating matters was the game’s usage of SMS Protect technology, which prevented players with prepaid phone plans from playing the game.
Blizzard has since addressed both issues: connecting to the game is less of a hassle, and most veteran Overwatch players don’t need SMS Protect to access multiplayer.
Even with those aforementioned struggles, Overwatch 2 managed to reach 25 million players a week and a half after its release.
