Overwatch: McCree Voice Actor Comments on the Character's Impending Name Change

The team behind Overwatch at Blizzard Entertainment announced a little over a week ago that it [...]

By Logan Moore

The team behind Overwatch at Blizzard Entertainment announced a little over a week ago that it would soon be looking to change the in-game name of McCree, who is one of the original characters associated with the multiplayer shooter. McCree was named after a former developer who worked at the studio but had departed in early August due to improper behavior that had come about during their tenure with the company. Now, the voice actor who has long played McCree in Overwatch has voiced his opinion on the situation and has agreed with the decision to re-name the character.

Speaking to ComingSoon, voice actor Matthew Mercer was asked about his thoughts on the matter involving McCree. Mercer, who has voiced the character for the past six years, said that he believes it was the best course of action for the future of Overwatch. "I know this is a small consolation, but it's one that needed to be done for a lot of people to feel comfortable moving forward with the story of Overwatch and the characters," Mercer said of his own opinion on the move. "People have different opinions on it and some can say that it's just a name and that it is ridiculous to change it, but it's a name that also represents a connection to a lot of people's pain and abuse. And if we have the opportunity to make it better and let that lie in the past and let the character live as something separate like it should, then I can't help but be behind that."

Mercer also explained that prior to Blizzard announcing that it would change the name of McCree in the future, he was consulted and asked about his own thoughts. "They called me and asked if I was aware of the situation and I said, 'I very much am.' And they said, 'As a part of this process, we want to separate this character from the terrible circumstance and give the opportunity to make this right and it's just one small way amongst many that need to be done. We just wanted to call and let you know and make sure you were OK with that.' I was like, 'Yeah, thank you for letting me know," Mercer said of the conversation that he had with the team behind the game.

Moving forward, Mercer also said that he currently doesn't know what McCree's name will be changed to, but he said that he hopes it can be one step of many to help improve the current culture at Blizzard. "If it was the one thing they did, it would be nowhere near enough. But it's just one facet of all the things they are seemingly doing internally to try to right a lot of wrongs," he said. "I feel so much for all of the people that were mistreated and were victims of individuals in the company that abused their power and positions. My heart has been breaking since the whole thing went down."

At this point in time, those working on Overwatch have not said when McCree's new name will be announced but it sounds as though we should learn more later in the year. Whenever new details on this character's future are revealed, we'll keep you in the loop here on ComicBook.com.

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