The Overwatch development team at Blizzard Entertainment formally announced its plans to change the name of the game's beloved cowboy gunslinger hero Jesse McCree. McCree was originally named after a Blizzard lead game designer who was recently let go from the company in the wake of its ongoing lawsuit with the State of California.The official Overwatch Twitter account posted the news of McCree's name change, stating that the team first founded the global hero shooter "around the idea that inclusivity, equity, and hope are the building blocks of a better future." The team deemed the change to McCree's name a necessary one and said it intends to give the Overwatch hero a name that better reflects what the game aims to stand for.
According to the announcement, the team had planned to soon kick off a new narrative arc for the game, with new story and game content featuring McCree as a central character. However, to take time to integrate the name change, the developers decided to delay the content to later this year. In the meantime, Overwatch will get a new free-for-all map in September.
"We realize that any change to such a well-loved and central hero in the game's fiction will take time to roll out correctly, and we'll share updates as this work progresses," the team stated.
McCree's name change is part of the fallout of an ongoing lawsuit between Activision Blizzard and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The lawsuit, which was the result of a two-year investigation into the company by the Department, alleges Activision Blizzard fostered a workplace culture of discrimination and sexual harassment. Subsequent information publicized a storm of potential revelations about the company's practices and has led to the departure of several executives and employees, such as Blizzard President J. Allen Brack.
The controversy surrounding former lead game designer Jesse McCree stems from his connections with another Blizzard developer and former World of Warcraft creative director Alex Afrasiabi. Documents from the lawsuit, obtained via Kotaku, allege that Afrasiabi was so widely known for behaviors of sexual harassment that his BlizzCon 2013 hotel room was nicknamed "The Cosby Suite" after alleged sexual predator Bill Cosby. Photographs have since emerged of McCree visiting the hotel room with Afrasiabi and other employees, with the group even posing beside a photo of Cosby himself. Other images have included screenshots of a group chat called "BlizzCon Cosby Crew" in which McCree and Afrasiabi make lewd and derogatory comments about women and the group's planned activity in the suite.
After the lawsuit began earlier this year, Blizzard recently confirmed McCree is no longer involved with the company in any capacity. Afrasiabi parted ways with Blizzard in 2020, far ahead of the lawsuit. Like McCree in Overwatch, Afrasiabi's name appeared in World of Warcraft, but Blizzard scrubbed the references shortly after the lawsuit was filed.
"Going forward, 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," the Overwatch team concluded. "Work on these updates is underway, and they are just a part of our ongoing commitment to honest reflection and making whatever changes are necessary to build a future worth fighting for."