Blizzard to rename Overwatch's McCree amid sexual harassment lawsuit, will stop naming...

[midian182]

In context: Companies naming video game characters after their employees isn't unusual, but what happens when the people in question fall from grace? It's a situation Blizzard is facing with Overwatch gunslinger McCree, named after Jesse McCree, one of several staff members dismissed amid the sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit brought against the firm. Now, Blizzard has announced it is renaming the character and will no longer use staff names in its games.

Blizzard helped immortalize Diablo 4 lead level designer Jesse McCree by naming the popular Overwatch character after him, a decision it came to regret after Kotaku revealed his involvement in the "Cosby Suite" group chats. It led to some Overwatch League casters refusing to use the name, referring to him instead as "the cowboy" during matches. There have also been calls from fans and players to rename the character.

Blizzard has acknowledged the problem and will be renaming McCree. "We built the Overwatch universe around the idea that inclusivity, equity, and hope are the building blocks of a better future," the company said in a statement. "They are central to the game and to the Overwatch team."

A message from the Overwatch team. pic.twitter.com/2W3AV7Pv6X

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) August 26, 2021

"As we continue to discuss how we best live up to our values and to demonstrate our commitment to creating a game world that reflects them, we believe it's necessary to change the name of the hero currently known as McCree to something that better represents what Overwatch stands for."

Blizzard didn't reveal the new name, but we know it won't be taken from another member of staff. The firm also said, "in-game characters will no longer be named after real employees and we will be more thoughtful and discerning about adding real world references in future Overwatch content."

There are several instances of McCree's name in World of Warcraft, including Scarlet Lord Jesseriah McCree, Jessup McCree, and Marshal McCree. Expect them to be removed as well. Blizzard previously replaced WoW references to Alex Afrasiabi, who was also part of the "BlizzCon Cosby Crew."

Blizzard recently promised not to create any more skins based on Overwatch League MVPs following sexual assault allegations against pro player Jay "Sinatraa" Won.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Jessie McCree, along with Diablo IV director Luis Barriga and World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft, had been dismissed from Blizzard. The lawsuit has also seen former company president J. Allen Brack and former head of HR Jesse Meschuk step down.

This week saw California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) accuse Activision Blizzard of "withholding and suppressing evidence" and shredding vital documents related to the lawsuit.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/90972-blizzard-rename-overwatch-mccree-amid-sexual-harassment-lawsuit.html

 

[Puiu]

Overwatch still exists? I feel like I haven't heard or seen anything about it in ages.

 

[Hexic]

Using a 75-ton press to hammer a nail - all in the name of social justice. If everyone in the world overreacted as hard as the standard is currently, we’d have thought police from a very famous novel romping around.

RIP Blizz North and the old guard. These new PC fairies are professional coat tail riders at this point.

 

[Hexic]

Overwatch still exists? I feel like I haven't heard or seen anything about it in ages.

It’s still out there and pretty popular - but they’ve effectively frozen development on OW to pull resources to the soon[ish]-to-be Overwatch 2.

 

[Adi6293]

Using a 75-ton press to hammer a nail - all in the name of social justice. If everyone in the world overreacted as hard as the standard is currently, we’d have thought police from a very famous novel romping around.

RIP Blizz North and the old guard. These new PC fairies are professional coat tail riders at this point.

I agree with you, what is changing that name going to achieve?.... NOTHING

 

[Puiu]

It’s still out there and pretty popular - but they’ve effectively frozen development on OW to pull resources to the soon[ish]-to-be Overwatch 2.

It will never be as popular ever again. The esports scene was so botched that few people will want to invest money into it again.

But my biggest problem with the esports scene of OW was... that it was too hard to follow the action (not the bad business side of it).

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I agree with you, what is changing that name going to achieve?.... NOTHING

But it OwNeD those evil sexists! Checkmate Nazi Republicans!

Social Justice is a cult, and ANYTHING that goes against the cult must be abolished or destroyed. Take any famous cult from the last 200 years, put their rules next to SJW rules, and it all fits. It's illogical, a total waste of time, and does nothing, but to the cult members this is a great moment of justice and glory that shall be denoted in the 14th chapter of their holy book.

 

[EEatGDL]

What was the lesson learned? Naming someone after someone else doesn't correlates one's action to the other afterwards.

 

[Dimitriid]

Oh hey! Activision-Blizzard is trying to be inclusive! Too bad they literally sexually assaulted female employees for years and suppressed their career opportunities openly and then continued to attempt to destroy evidence of it even *after* they have been cited for a legal action which would also mean they're likely also in contempt of court already before the trial even begins!

Guess what? The people that might applaud inclusivity right now would like all of Activision dismissed, most of the perpetrators and executives overseeing them charged and the company's assets auctioned to compensate their victims.

The fact that they're trying to piss on us with this empty gesture and seriously tell us is raining is probably the most cynical and evil action I've heard so far this year on the gaming industry.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Oh hey! Activision-Blizzard is trying to be inclusive! Too bad they literally sexually assaulted female employees for years and suppressed their career opportunities openly and then continued to attempt to destroy evidence of it even *after* they have been cited for a legal action which would also mean they're likely also in contempt of court already before the trial even begins!

Guess what? The people that might applaud inclusivity right now would like all of Activision dismissed, most of the perpetrators and executives overseeing them charged and the company's assets auctioned to compensate their victims.

The fact that they're trying to piss on us with this empty gesture and seriously tell us is raining is probably the most cynical and evil action I've heard so far this year on the gaming industry.

*alleged*. There's no police report of the "literal sexual assault" and like most of these cases is going to wither and die on the vine when it comes to actually PROVING any of these claims in court. Innocent until proven guilty, this is america, not china.

Of course the hysterical drama queens would love for activision to be utterly dismantled for daring to exist, same thing they demanded of rockstar after the hot coffee mod. And like the hot coffee mod they will be left coping and seething when activision prints another 2 billion.

I mean how many times have we seen this? 100s, if not 1000s of times? And outside of 1-2 noteworthy cases, they all sputtered out and died.

 

[captaincranky]

I remember the good old days, when you could just sleep with the boss once, get your promotion and be done with it.

This used to be a joke, particularly in the motion picture industry. Anytime you would see a young starlet, with a great a**, but no talent, you'd absolutely, positively, know how she, "got the part".Movies starring Ann Margaret were always viewed somewhat askance in this manner, as she didn't bring much to the boardroom with regard to talent, but she certainly had the goods to bring it to the bedroom, in a manner of speaking.

Also, once upon a time, the drug methaqualone, (Quaalude), was still, (sort of), legal)..It was notorious for coaxing women out of their panties. But guess what, women liked it. And, although you'd never know it by today's standards, they enjoyed being, "checked out", and flirted with.

Fast forward to today's value system, where women spend hours and hours in "spin class" to the point where you could bounce a quarter off their backsides, slap on their yoga pants tight enough to cause "camel toe", ,then walk into work and defy you to say, or do, anything about it.

I guess you could say the standards have changed to where you now have to, "sue your way through the glass ceiling", instead instead of merely sleeping your way through it..

SNL summed up relationships far better than I can:

 

[m4a4]

Man, how out of touch with reality do most of the (public facing) employees have to be, especially in the PR department.
Who would actually think that this is anything but a deflection to cut through the horrible PR in the last months. And the best part? It's backfiring like anyone could've told them.

Nobody knew the character was named after this guy, nobody seems to care either (because McCree has become it's own iconic character). But pretty much everyone can agree that this is laughable at best.

At this point, Activision should put Blizzard out of it's misery. It's not recovering.

 

[Aceseven]

Look at blizz sweep the name away, the damage has been done just effin own up to it at this point.

but thats how it is these days, as long as the bad whatever isn't seen then all is well right? what a joke, if gamers had any type of spine(which they dont)they'd actually make blizz keep the name and wear that shame.

 

[Sausagemeat]

The media ought to do their best to not talk about "the cosby suite". Men are absolutely fed up of constantly being told they are abusers, they cant be trusted etc. The idea of idolising Bill Cosby because he did what he wanted and didnt give in to the usual obnoxious activists will resonate with a lot of young men. Bill Cosby is a lot cooler than your local feminist activist.

Fast forward to today's value system, where women spend hours and hours in "spin class" to the point where you could bounce a quarter off their backsides, slap on their yoga pants tight enough to cause "camel toe", ,then walk into work and defy you to say, or do, anything about it..

Lmao thats so true. When women go to work they dress themselves up in tight clothing, loads of makeup and professionaly done hair. But if you dare make any kind of advance youl be in the HR office before lunchtime. Has anyone proposed banning women from wearing make up in the office and actually enforcing their dress codes? Us men get all trussed up in suits and if I dared to show up in like a romper suit id get sent home immediately. But all the woman are practically wearing hotpants.

 

[Puiu]

*alleged*. There's no police report of the "literal sexual assault" and like most of these cases is going to wither and die on the vine when it comes to actually PROVING any of these claims in court. Innocent until proven guilty, this is america, not china.

Of course the hysterical drama queens would love for activision to be utterly dismantled for daring to exist, same thing they demanded of rockstar after the hot coffee mod. And like the hot coffee mod they will be left coping and seething when activision prints another 2 billion.

I mean how many times have we seen this? 100s, if not 1000s of times? And outside of 1-2 noteworthy cases, they all sputtered out and died.

'alleged" - that's what the lawsuit is for.

 

[CybaGirl]

What a joke!

The world has gone stupid and has been over run by over sensitive snowflakes looking to make a fast buck at someone else's expense as actually working for a living is simply just too much for their over sensitive feeble minds.

What hope is there for the human race if this continues down the road that it is travelling on?

 

[CybaGirl]

Lmao thats so true. When women go to work they dress themselves up in tight clothing, loads of makeup and professionaly done hair. But if you dare make any kind of advance youl be in the HR office before lunchtime. Has anyone proposed banning women from wearing make up in the office and actually enforcing their dress codes? Us men get all trussed up in suits and if I dared to show up in like a romper suit id get sent home immediately. But all the woman are practically wearing hotpants.

LOL.

But yes you are right! When I worked in the hobby shop many of the guys made sexist comments or made advances towards me but in a fun way not serious. I didn't mind and I loved the attention. It was all fun and games and they guys loved it and me to as they knew I could take a joke and wasn't offended by anything they said to me.

It all made for a harmonious and happy working environment and when every one is happy then that's when people tend to do their best work and it makes the day go so much smoother.

The problem these days. Is the leftists and feminists who I personally don't like nor do I support any of their self serving ways.

The world has gone stupid thanks to all these stupid so called people and I have to say it. I was a lot happier when things were the way they were years ago as opposed to walking on egg shells and thinking am I or society has made men uncomfortable in regards to what they can say to me.

There's just no fun and laughter anymore!

Just a joke really and so are the leftists and feminist morons of today who have made things the way they are!

But I still ask the question? Why did the majority let the minority have their selfish, self entitled and self serving ways to start with?