Overwatch’s fan-favourite cowboy character Jesse McCree finally has a new name after Activision Blizzard committed to changing it in the wake of California’s ongoing lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and a “frat boy” culture at the company. Henceforth, Jesse McCree will be known as Cole Cassidy.
McCree is just one of many characters across Blizzard’s portfolio to have taken his name from a developer at the company. However, back in August, Blizzard announced it would be renaming the cowboy after the real-life Jesse McCree, who had been named in several accounts of the studio’s toxic work culture, was confirmed to have departed the company amid the fallout from the lawsuit – although no reason for his exit was given.
Two months on, the official Overwatch Twitter feed has now revealed Cole Cassidy to be the new name for the sharp shooter formerly known as Jesse McCree, with the change set to occur in an update next Tuesday, 26th October.
“The first thing a renegade loses is their name, and this one gave up his long ago,” Blizzard writes in the blurb accompanying the news. “Running from his past meant running from himself, and each passing year only widened the divide between who he had been and what he had become. But in every cowboy’s life, there comes a time when he has to stop and make a stand.”