Overwatch confirms McCree name change despite delay to major game content

Michael Gwilliam
McCree Overwatch

Overwatch has confirmed they will be changing McCree’s name after the developer the hero was named after found himself in hot water amidst Blizzard’s ongoing controversy.

On August 26, Blizzard announced that McCree’s name will be changed, and going forward, no hero in Overwatch will be named after employees.

The decision, however, couldn’t come at a worse time. As Overwatch players remain hungry for content, a major story arc and in-game content was planned involving the character.

Now, the new story arc has been delayed to later this year and a new FFA map will launch in its place. It’s unclear if the new map is the previously announced Malevento.

This all said, changing the hero will take a lot of work, and the Overwatch team says they will be updating fans on progress.

There had been numerous ideas by fans about how to tackle the McCree situation, including killing him off, revealing McCree was a fake name, and other concepts. However, it seems like a name change was what Blizzard felt was the right decision.

McCree and Zarya on Hollywood
McCree is getting a name change.

Of course, with the name change, many other parts of the game will need to be updated, including hero interactions, voice lines, text, and other in-game references. It’s not a simple process.

Hopefully, fans can finally get some new in-game content soon alongside from major Overwatch 2 news in the months ahead.

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About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam