Blizzard changes Overwatch, World of Warcraft characters following lawsuit

Overwatch character McCree will get a new name in the future, according to a tweet from the game's official Twitter account on Thursday. Blizzard will also alter the name of multiple characters in World of Warcraft. Both changes come after the characters' namesakes, three Blizzard developers, were let go from the company following a lawsuit by the state of California accusing Activision Blizzard of sexual discrimination and harassment. 

"We built the Overwatch universe around the idea that inclusivity, equity, and hope are the building blocks of a better future," the Overwatch team said in the tweet. "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."

The development team also said the next narrative arc planned for September will be delayed to later this year. McCree was supposed to play a part in that arc, the team said. 

Jesse McCree was a longtime designer with Blizzard who was working on Diablo 4 until he was let go by the company earlier in August. McCree was one of the Blizzard developers who was part of the "BlizzCon Cosby Crew" that hosted parties in a room called the "Bill Cosby Suite," according to pictures received by Kotaku. Why exactly the suite was named after Cosby -- who was serving time for sexual assault before his conviction was overturned earlier this year -- is in dispute. McCree along with others were criticized for their part in a "frat boy culture" within the company. News of his departure from the company came weeks after those pictures surfaced. 

World of Warcraft will also make changes to several character names and references to McCree as well as other developers who recently left the company. 

"Yes, the in-game references to Jesse McCree, Luis Barriga, and Jon LeCraft will be removed from World of Warcraft," a Blizzard spokesperson said in an email Monday. 

Barriga was a former lead designer for World of Warcraft and was the director of Diablo 4 before he left the company. LeCraft was also a former designer for the game. 

The three developers not only have characters named after them, but also items, weapons and more. There's even a zone in the game called Mac'Aree named after McCree.