You know what? I’m actually just going to say it with my entire chest; I think that the renaming of the character McCree is an unbridled and uncomplicated good and I’ve yet to see a compelling argument for why it’s a bad move
First of, to those who were not aware: McCree was named after a game designer at Blizzard, who was revealed to have been a key figure in the widespread culture of sexual harassment and discrimination at Blizzard. The character is therefor being renamed to no longer pay homage to this man
As mentioned, I think this is the right decision. I’ve already seen that not everyone shares that conviction and I do empathize with everyone who feels differently, but I wanted to explain my reasoning here. There are three main reasons why I feel like it’s the right choice:
It keeps the conversation going. I’ve seen a lot of people say this is a meaningless attempt at ‘virtue signaling’ to satisfy the fans and make them quiet down. And while I agree with the point that this action cannot meaningfully stand alone - other, more substantial changes in corporate culture must be encouraged and follow this - I have a hard time catching how this will have a stifling effect on the fan outrage. I’ve seen more content about the situation at Blizzard this morning than the last two weeks. People are keenly aware what’s going on once again - the announcement of the coming name change sent out by Overwatch themselves is plain and clear about the reasoning why. This isn’t stopping the conversation about what’s going on at Blizzard, it has reignited it across social media
The second big part of this argument, is that I cannot help but imagine that this is the solution most respectful to the real life victims, who are still working on the game and this specific character to this day. I find it unlikely that the real life Jesse McCree did not harm - be that directly or indirectly - any woman who is still working actively on overwatch right now. No matter how you turn it, we cannot meaningfully insist that having a character named after you isn’t some form of homage or respectful gesture; especially when it’s a beloved character. I think it is inhumane to expect anyone to continue to feel secure and supported in a work environment where one of your most beloved game assets is named in homage to a man who (at least contributed to a culture that) hurt you
Thirdly, and this one is admittedly a much smaller and less substantial point, I think this represents a now consistent and commendable praxis in the game’s design. The idea of incorporating prominent game elements directly tied to one person was not a good idea - as we also saw with the Sinatraa MVP skin. It’s a fault that shouldn’t be repeated and removing this name makes the game consistent: there are no intentional direct personal homages anywhere in the main game
