Overwatch devs reveal McCree's new name as it distances itself from controversy

The developers at Blizzard Entertainment unveiled their new take on the iconic gunslinger while vowing to do better against a toxic internal culture

Blizzard Entertainment revealed the new name of Overwatch's cowboy gunslinger McCree -- and he's now known as Cole Cassidy. This change happened due to a shift at Blizzard following reports of sexual harassment and toxicity in leadership. This change is intended to distance the character way from now-fired Blizzard game designer Jesse McCree, the character's namesake who was terminated for promoting a toxic culture.

Revealed on the official Overwatch Twitter account, the change to Cole Cassidy gave some added background to connect into the fiction of the game's setting while also addressing the current state of Blizzard Entertainment. The renamed cowboy will make his debut in Overwatch on Oct. 26

"To make this new Overwatch better, to make things right, he had to be honest with his team and himself," as the Twitter post states. "The cowboy he was rode into the sunset, and Cole Cassidy faced the world at dawn. 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 where he has to stop and make a stand. To make this new Overwatch better, to make things right, he had to be honest with his team and himself. The cowboy he was rode into the sunset, and Cole Cassidy faced the world at dawn."

Along with the name change, Blizzard also removed all voice lines that mention the name McCree, which will now be re-recorded to reference Cole Cassidy. 

This isn't the first instance of changes happening to Blizzard games. World of Warcraft saw recent changes to characters to distance themselves from other developers cited as problematic for the company. For Overwatch, this change was first announced back in August, with the developers stating that the intention to serve as a way to start building towards the game's larger message of inclusivity.

The recent revelations of abuse at Blizzard Entertainment have caused a significant turnover at the company, which saw legacy developers, some of whom have been at the company since the early years, depart the company voluntarily or otherwise. This also led to numerous delays with Blizzard's core properties, such as World of Warcraft, Diablo IV, and most especially Overwatch, and its sequel, Overwatch 2.