Overwatch’s cowboy will be renamed over namesake’s ties to Activision lawsuit

Enlarge / The cowboy formerly known as McCree is currently the "Man with No Name." (credit: Blizzard)

Overwatch's cowboy is getting a new name.

This is Blizzard's latest attempt to salvage its image. The studio is dealing with a lawsuit filed by the state of California in July over employee claims of sexual discrimination and harassment, and its recent public defense was ill-received. The cowboy's namesake was Diablo 4's former lead designer Jesse McCree, who was fired after images showed him inside "the Cosby suite," where female employees reported they were harassed. The announcement comes a day after the Golden State accused the company in an amended complaint of shredding HR documents.

The cowboy McCree is a gun-for-hire loner in Overwatch lore. In-game, one interaction jokingly casts doubt about McCree's first name being Joel, but it was officially Jesse.

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