Yesterday, Blizzard released a statement via Overwatch Twitter account that would change McCree’s name. McCree was named after Jesse McCree, one of his former employees who is no longer at the company in light of the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Activision Blizzard on July 22nd.
A message from the Overwatch team. pic.twitter.com/2W3AV7Pv6X
– Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) August 26, 2021
The full statement is as follows:
We built the Overwatch universe around the idea that inclusion, equality, and hope are the basic elements of a better future. They are fundamental to the game and the Overwatch team.
As we continue to discuss how we live our values best and demonstrate our commitment to creating a game world that reflects them, we believe we need to change the name of the hero currently known as McCree to something that better represents what Overwatch stands for. per.
We realize that any change to such a beloved and central hero in game fiction will take time to implement properly and we will share updates as this work progresses. In the short term, we had planned to start a narrative arc in September, backed by a new story and game content, of which McCree was a key part. Since we want to integrate this change into this arc of history, we will delay the new arc until the end of this year and launch a new FFA map this September. In the future, the characters in the game will no longer have the names of real employees and we will be more thoughtful and discerning about adding real-world references to future Overwatch content.
This will help reinforce that we are building a fictional universe that is unmistakably different from the real world and that better illustrates that creating Overwatch is really a team effort. Work on these updates is underway and they are just one part of our ongoing commitment to honest reflection and the changes needed to build a future worth fighting for. We know that actions speak louder than words, and we look forward to demonstrating our commitment to making Overwatch a better gaming experience and continuing to make our team the best it can be.
McCree had been with the company since 2005 and was one of the employees seen in a viral photo of the “Cosby Suite,” which Kotaku revealed about a week after filing the lawsuit.
As expected, the fans called for the call Overwatch character who is no longer associated with his namesake. Now, about a month later, Blizzard changes its name and delays the next one Overwatch arc of history (since he was very McCree-centered) and, according to the Washington Post, will do the same with World of Warcraft, which also has references to McCree and other employees who are no longer in the company because of the lawsuit.
Currently another popular Blizzard game, World of Warcraft, still contains references to Jesse McCree in the form of five character names and a city name. However, several current employees who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals said Thursday that gestures with the long-time designer will also be removed from the game soon. In addition, references to two former Blizzard developers, Diablo 4 the director Luis Barriga i World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft will also be eliminated. A Blizzard spokesman confirmed these changes.
“We can confirm that these references to World of Warcraft will be removed, ”the spokesman said.
Both Luis Barriga and Jonathan LeCraft left the company at the same time as McCree. According to Kotaku, LeCraft had also been represented in the “Cosby Suite.”
When asked by Kotaku about removing the belly and LeCraft name, Blizzard responded with, “We’ll review the real-world references currently used in our games and make decisions based on how they best represent the core values of our games “.
As for the Overwatch name change, the Washington Post says, “Blizzard isn’t ready to announce the character’s new name, but plans to incorporate the change into a narrative arc that was originally intended to appear in the game in September.”
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
I can’t help but wonder how many more characters and locations of the Activision Blizzard titles will need to be reviewed after all of this. To be honest, it’s pretty disturbing to think about, especially since the company has decided to never put the name of the game’s characters back to its employees. But what will always be uncomfortable is the fact that this topic has been a topic that women have been talking about for some time in the gaming industry. All we can do is hope that this is a case where their voices are really heard and the necessary changes are made that the company really adheres to.
(Image: Blizzard / Overwatch)
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