Activision Blizzard continues to be rocked by allegations of sexual improprieties and toxic workplace culture. Many key employees are being shown the door as it becomes evident that they fostered the environment that made these issues possible or participated in the deviant behavior themselves. As a result, some homages to these employees are being removed from games. The latest character affected is Overwatch’s McCree, who will be getting a name change in the near future.
Why is McCree getting a name change in Overwatch?
A message from the Overwatch team. pic.twitter.com/2W3AV7Pv6X
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) August 26, 2021
Overwatch’s McCree is named as an homage to former Blizzard Lead Designer Jesse McCree. Blizzard confirmed that McCree left the company last week, but didn’t state the reason for his departure.
However, he was confirmed to be part of the “Cosby Suite” group messages that were exposed by Kotaku last month. Given the allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment that have been leveled at Activision Blizzard, it makes sense that the company would want to distance itself from McCree in every way possible.
So, McCree’s name is changing because the Blizzard employee he is named for is involved in the toxic culture for which the company is coming under fire.
Blizzard released a statement concerning McCree’s name change in Overwatch, which you can read below:
“We built the Overwatch universe around the idea that inclusivity, equity, and hope are the building blocks of a better future. They are central to the game and to the Overwatch team.
As we continue to discuss how we best live up to our values and to demonstrate our commitment to creating a game world that reflects them, we believe it’s necessary to change the name of the hero currently known as McCree to something that better represents what Overwatch stands for.
We realize that any change to such a well-loved and central hero in the game’s fiction will take time to roll out correctly, and we’ll share updates as this week progresses. In the near term, we had planned to kick off a narrative arc in September supported with new story and game content, of which McCree was a key part. Since we want to integrate the change into this story arc, we will be delaying the new arc until later this year and instead launch a new FFA map this September. Going forward, in-game characters will no longer be named after real employees and we will be more thoughtful and discerning about adding real world references in future Overwatch content.
This will help reinforce that we’re building a fictional universe that is unmistakably different from the real world and better illustrates that the creation of Overwatch is truly a team effort. Work on these updates is underway, and they are just a part of our ongoing commitment to honest reflections and making whatever changes are necessary to build a future worth fighting for. We know that actions speak louder than words, and we hope to show you our commitment to making Overwatch a better experience in-game and continue to make our team the best it can be.
-The Overwatch Team”
