It hung in the face of the players ofOverwatch, and Activision-Blizzard has just confirmed it. McCree's character, named after studio developer Jesse McCree, will be renamed soon.
Jesse McCree was recently ousted from the company following the lawsuit filed by the State of California against Activision-Blizzard for repeated acts of harassment and gender discrimination.
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Blizzard will no longer name its characters after its employees
It was via a tweet published by the official Overwatch account that Blizzard made its announcement. A message recalling how much the company is working to create a space of inclusivity and tolerance, which serves as a preamble to several important announcements.
First, that Blizzard “believes there is a need to change the name of the hero currently known as McCree to something that better represents what Overwatch seeks to champion and represent. A fate reminiscent of that of Alex Afrasiabi, also dismissed from the company for related reasons, and whose NPC who shares his surname in World of Warcraft has been renamed.
Secondly, and because McCree was to play an important role in the next narrative arc that Blizzard was about to deploy in September, the studio says it wants to take the time necessary to rethink its scenario. This new story is therefore delayed to "later this year", and players will receive a new map for the Deathmatch mode as compensation.
Finally, Blizzard announces that it will no longer give the names of some of its developers to fictional characters in the future. A decision that will help him, the studio thinks, to make the distinction between reality and the worlds of the imagination that he conceives. The opportunity, also, to emphasize that game development is a team affair, and certainly not a one-person affair.
