In recent weeks, Activision Blizzard has been in the middle of considerable controversy, following a lawsuit from California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing that alleged far-reaching sexism, harassment, and abuse at the corporate. In addition, amid a series of exits from high-ranking employees at the corporate – including former Blizzard president J. Allen Brack – Blizzard has now revealed that it’ll be changing the name of Overwatch character Jesse McCree.
On the surface, which may be a weird move for the corporate to form, McCree was named after a real-life employee of Blizzard, Jesse McCree, who has been implicated in these sexual assault complaints. McCree was one among those high-profile departures within the wake of those sexual misconduct allegations, with Blizzard confirming his departure from the corporate earlier this year.
A message from the Overwatch team. pic.twitter.com/2W3AV7Pv6X
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) August 26, 2021
On Twitter, Blizzard confirmed that following McCree’s exit, the Overwatch character who shares his name will be renamed during a future patch. “We built the Overwatch universe round the concept inclusivity, equity, and hope are the building blocks of a far better future. they’re central to the sport and to the Overwatch team,” the statement reads.
“As we still discuss how we best live up to our values and to demonstrate our commitment to making a game world that reflects them, we believe it’s necessary to vary the name of the hero currently referred to as McCree to something that better represents what Overwatch stands for.”
Blizzard says that changing McCree’s name requires time which McCree’s name change is going to be included in an upcoming narrative arc. That narrative arc was slated to begin in September, but since Blizzard wants to include McCree’s name change, it’s been delayed until later this year. In its place, Blizzard says it’ll launch a replacement FFA map in September, with details to follow.
In addition, Blizzard said that it’d not name in-game characters after real-life employees, which it “will be more thoughtful and discerning about adding world references in future Overwatch content.” We’ll allow you to know when Blizzard announces the new name for McCree, so stay tuned for more.
