Jeff Kaplan said Team Fortress began as a Quake mod and described Team Fortress 2 as a major influence on Overwatch, which was intended to pay homage to earlier shooters.

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"Jeff Kaplan said Team Fortress began as a Quake mod and described Team Fortress 2 as a major influence on Overwatch, which was intended to pay homage to earlier shooters."

Kaplan directly supplies the Quake mod to Team Fortress to Overwatch lineage used in the section, while framing Overwatch as an homage rather than a literal continuation.

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Source title Transcript for Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming | Lex Fridman Podcast #493

Source authors Lex Fridman; Jeff Kaplan

Source year 2026

Confidence high

Importance high