Overwatch: Why Blizzard is right to change the name of McCree

Activision Blizzard has taken a ton of heat as of late, and all of it deserved. If you haven’t heard, the video game publisher, known best for blockbuster franchises like Diablo, World of Warcraft and Overwatch, has been sued by by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) for sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace.

If you’ve played any Blizzard games, you probably know that the company tends to name some of its video game characters after prominent employees. One such character is Overwatch’s McCree, named after logntime Blizzard designer Jesse McCree.

The real-life Jesse McCree worked on numerous Blizzard titles, including the World of Warcraft expansions, Diablo 3, and the upcoming Diablo 4. In July, a resurfaced Facebook photo from BlizzCon 2013 showed McCree posing with other Blizzard staff in a hotel nicknamed the “Cosby Suite.” The group is posing in front of a giant portrait of Bill Cosby; although, the image is the least of the issues with what supposedly went down in that room.

Shortly afterward, it was confirmed that Jesse McCree was let go from Blizzard, along with Diablo 4 game director Luis Barriga and World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft.

The issue remained, however, that McCree was still immortalized in Overwatch. Naturally, fans wanted mention of him scrubbed from the game.

Today, Blizzard confirmed that they will be changing the name of McCree “to something that better represents what Overwatch stands for.”

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The issues surrounding McCree have actually impacted Blizzard’s plans to kick off a narrative arc in September with a new story and game content, since the character was supposed to be a “key part” of it. They’ll now be delaying the new arc until later this year as they work to integrate this change into the story. In the meantime, they will be launching a new FFA map this September.

Blizzard also assured that all future in-game characters will no longer be named after real employees which, honestly, makes a ton of sense. I was never a fan of naming fictional characters in fantasy video games after real life people. Even though I never knew the history behind McCree’s name in Overwatch, the whole thing just seems so unimaginative. I understand wanting to honor your longtime employees, but maybe there’s a better way to do so (like with better pay or bonuses).

Check out the full statement from Blizzard regarding McCree’s name change in Overwatch.

Do you agree that McCree should be renamed in Overwatch? Sound off below!