Overwatch Removes McCree's Noose Spray

Blizzard has quietly removed one of Overwatch's sprays from the game that manifested itself as a noose wherever it was placed. It was one of the sprays available to McCree but has now been replaced by a different one, a horseshoe which says "Bad Luck" across the top of the spray. While Blizzard has not yet issued a statement on the change nor has it included any such adjustment in any patch notes, players were quick to spot the substitution. Despite there being no official comment from Blizzard, the timing of the change makes it evident it's been done as a result to ongoing racial tensions in the United States.

Players took note of the change within the game's forums and on Twitter. Twitter user OverwatchNaeri shared the following image which showed the noose spray as it previously existed and the horseshoe spray that now serves as its replacement.

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

— Naeri X 나에리 (@OverwatchNaeri) July 15, 2020

Discussions ensuing after the noose's removal have seen players sharing their anecdotes about how they saw it used in the game and what the intent was behind it being there in the first place. Some have attested it's a movie reference and while others say it fits in with the Western style of McCree, the function of the noose is still unchanged and is impossible to ignore. Players mentioned that they commonly saw people use the noose spray to "hang" other players' sprays by combining them. Though Overwatch is still about running down your opponents to complete your teams' objectives, having a noose in the game – especially right now – was a bit too real for many players to be comfortable with, based on the replies.

for everyone telling me "cowboys have nooses, its symbol used in western movies etc" yeah its a symbol used for HANGING PEOPLE. is that really something that should be in a kids game? also cowboys carry lassos but this clearly isnt a lasso, they're different knots

— lizard teeth @ tlou2 (@cyborg4cyborg) July 15, 2020

Elsewhere in the discussions players wondered if Blizzard would make any similar changes to the game's police skins available to D.Va and Brigitte. That's not the first time the conversation has come up where people suggested the police skins shouldn't be in the game, and it likely won't be the last.