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Some casters for the Overwatch League are no longer referring to the hero Jesse McCree by name. Instead, they are opting to call him “the cowboy,” following the real-life McCree’s involvement in the ongoing lawsuit by the State of California against the creator of Overwatch, Blizzard.
McCree’s namesake is the now ex-Blizzard developer of the same name. The real-life Jesse McCree is best known for his work on the Diablo series, including being a lead designer on Diablo 4. However, McCree left Blizzard recently after photos surfaced of him in the infamous “Cosby Suite.” He was also seen in the “Cosby Crew” group chat. The chat was created by Alex Afrasiabi, who was named in the lawsuit against Blizzard.
As reported in an article by Kotaku, at least two Overwatch League casters are no longer referring to the character McCree by name. Fans have noticed that Brennon “Bren” Hook and Josh “Sideshow” Wilkinson have taken to labeling him “the cowboy.” Kotaku reports that the move was not enforced by Blizzard. Rather, both casters came to the decision independent of the company. Another caster, Mitch “Uber” Leslie, approved of the gesture on Twitter. Both Wilkinson and Hook liked the original tweet, as well.
In the wake of the controversy, some Overwatch fans are calling for the character McCree to be renamed. Beyond removing the real-life McCree’s influence, it would make sense in-universe. One exchange between the hero McCree and Sombra implies that “Jesse McCree” is a pseudonym. However, such a feat would require re-recording quite a few voice lines. The compromise would be changing his name for the sequel, Overwatch 2. This may have its own set of issues, as McCree has previously been confirmed to be returning for Overwatch 2 with the same name, so making changes would depend on how far development is.
Using the placeholder nickname “the cowboy” is, at least, a minor way for casters to avoid stirring up trouble while doing their jobs. There is the possibility of some misunderstanding, though. Another damage hero, Ashe, also features a strong Western theme. However, Ashe’s name carries no negative connotations. She’s also not a very popular hero in the competitive scene, unlike her male counterpart, which makes any confusion a fairly unlikely scenario. McCree the character is popular with Overwatch players of all skill levels because of his abilities, backstory, and personality, but his name is a reminder of a very upsetting story for many Blizzard fans. Calling him “the cowboy” is working as a temporary solution.
