Jesse McCree, the Overwatch hero, has a new name, and no, it isn’t Deadeye Dave anymore. Blizzard has renamed the gunslinger, as previously promised, following the departure of his real-life namesake from the studio earlier this year. McCree will be known as Cole Cassidy as of October 26th, according to the official website.
“In order to make the new Overwatch better — in order to put things right — he had to be honest with his team and with himself.” Blizzard announced the news in a tweet. “He rode off into the sunset like the cowboy he was, and Cole Cassidy awoke to face the world at the crack of dawn.”
The real Jesse McCree was fired from Activision Blizzard after the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against the company for creating a “frat boy” workplace. In addition to being named in the complaint, McCree is alleged to have participated in the infamous “Cosby Suite,” in which Blizzard employees, including former World of Warcraft creative director Alex Afrasiabi, allegedly harassed and assaulted female employees. When Blizzard first announced the name change, the company stated that it wanted to find a name that better represented the ideals of Overwatch. It also promised that in-game characters would no longer be named after company employees.
Blizzard is also experimenting with two potential changes to Cassidy’s equipment, in addition to the name change. It may change his Deadeye ultimate to make it even more lethal, as well as allow players to use his Combat Roll while in mid-air, among other things. Vertical knockback abilities possessed by heroes such as Doomfist and Wrecking Ball should be avoided as a result of the latter change. To test out the changes, launch Overwatch‘s Experimental mode and play around with them.
