Overwatch character McCree to be renamed following Activision Blizzard lawsuit

Blizzard has announced that it plans to change the name of Overwatch character McCree, following the recent sexual harrasment and discrimination lawsuit brought against Activision Blizzard by the state of California. The character McCree was named after Jesse McCree, the former Diablo 4 lead level designer and long time staffer at Blizzard, who was dismissed from the company after his involvement in the “Cosby Suite” scandal, which was brought to light by Kotaku. In a statement posted on Twitter, the Overwatch team said that it believes “it’s necessary to change the name of the hero currently known as McCree to something that better represents what Overwatch stands for.” The team goes on to say that such a change will take “time to roll out correctly” and that Blizzard will be sharing updates on the change as work progresses. A new narrative arc for Overwatch was also planned for September that heavily involved McCree, but this has now been pushed back until later in the year so the name change can be integrated into the new arc. Instead, a new FFA map will be coming to Overwatch next month. The team also notes that characters in Overwatch will no longer be named after real employees. “We will be more thoughtful and discerning about adding real world references in future Overwatch content,” the statement reads. “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.”In early August, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack announced his departure from the company, following the lawsuit. Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra have been named as new co-leaders of Blizzard.



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