Overwatch Removes Cosmetic Noose From Character

Overwatch Removes Cosmetic Noose From Character

Blizzard quietly removes a noose spray from one of the characters in Overwatch, likely in response to ongoing Black Lives Matter protests.

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In a recent patch Blizzard has quietly removed a cosmetic noose from McCree, one of the characters in their popular hero shooter Overwatch. The noose was a spray, a small cosmetic image that can be placed on walls throughout a stage. Every character has several sprays and players can equip four to use in a match.

It’s a time of rather severe racial unrest in America following the Black Lives Matter protests spurred by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers. The struggle for justice has touched every aspect of society, including pop culture. Many pieces of entertainment media have been re-examining how they portray the police and race issues, and this has led to several cancellations and temporary removals of films like Gone With The Wind from streaming services. The world of video games has been impacted as well, with online game companies rushing to remove racist provocateurs from their player base and making their games more inclusive, tolerant environments for everyone.

It is likely in this spirit that Blizzard removed McCree’s Noose spray in a recent update, replacing it with a horseshoe (via Twitter). McCree is a character styled after an Old West gunslinger, and the noose was likely introduced to the game in that spirit. Hanging criminals is a pretty common trope in the old west, and the gallows is an enduring image from a lot of Westerns. But these days, the noose has much more troubling connotations when considered in the current political context. Many racist hate groups have threatened or even attempted lynchings in response to the efforts of BLM activists, and there was a panic recently when NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace found what he believed was a noose in his garage. In a climate such as this, it would be easy for a cosmetic noose like McCree’s to get misinterpreted, or even misused by toxic players. While Blizzard has yet to comment on the change, it seems pretty clear what the cause is.

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In today’s update, the Overwatch McCree “Noose” spray has been removed and replaced with the “BAD LUCK” spray. pic.twitter.com/rpMAfJlB2y

Blizzard isn’t the first to remove minor cosmetics in response to the political climate of the day. Infinity Ward recently removed the OK gesture from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and its Warzone expansion, due to the gesture’s fraught history as a white supremacist gesture. These changes are certainly well-intentioned but they’re very small. Just as was the case with Modern Warfare, fans were largely unimpressed by this Overwatch update. While some did applaud the sentiment behind it, others pointed out that more substantial changes, such as better chat filters, would be more appreciated. Furthermore, there are numerous cosmetic skins in the game that actually turn characters into police officers, and given the shocking examples of police brutality still happening across the country, there is a very strong case for the removal of those skins as well.

The fight for racial justice is a long and hard one. Ultimately, there are many more important matters to consider than minor cosmetic effects in video games. But this struggle affects everyone in the country, and absolutely no one should turn a blind eye on it. Blizzard’s decision to remove the noose from its game is a very small one, but it was the right choice to make. Blizzard has famously struggled in the past to fall on the right side of historical events; few could forget last year’s controversy with Hearthstone player Blitzchung and the Hong Kong protests. Blizzard will have to make a lot more changes to Overwatch if they want to maintain their reputation, but this is a decent start.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/overwatch-noose-removed/

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