His name is McCree, and should be left at that.
No matter what is done, the character will always be McCree to the players, and developers.
Changing his name does absolutely nothing to change what happened, who the character is, and how much of a jerk his name sake is. His name has been cemented as Jesse McCree since the release of the game 6yrs ago, with a strong foundation of media, lore, and merchandise built around the character and just who he is.
This does nothing to touch the underlying issue which lead to having to rename a fictional character in the first place. It does little to nothing to those who were directly affected, or abused by the characters namesake.
If Overwatch was still in development, then his name could be changed easily, but not only is the game out, but it has been out for 6yrs now. Jesse and McCree are both common names, and this is one of those times that it just absolutely fits the character to a T.
You have to be able to separate the Fictional Character from the real life DoucheWad. They are separate entities, and when working on one, you don’t think of the other… period.
No matter what is done to McCree from this point on, he will always be McCree. We’ll still have countless media, lore, and etc on the market from before the name change stating his name is McCree People who have been playing the name since before this “Change” will still think of him as McCree And the developers working on the character, will know they are working on "McCree, just under a different name.
If they delete McCree, and make a new gunslinger to replace him… people will just refer to the new character as “McCree’s” replacement. He’s that cemented into the game, and even pop culture at this moment.
The only true way would be to retire the character all together, and not offer a replacement.
Someone said there is no good reason to not change his name…
Here’s my thoughts on that
This may even be harder for Devs then people think depending on how the reference and file system in Overwatch really is. What is his file name and tag in the code?
Are all the referential files “McCree” is his Skin, and Model and colors named like “McCreePalette” etc etc… if not then the devs will have to go in and change every single instance of this name to his new name which will take hundreds of hours of man power. Miss just one and the character won’t work properly.
Not to mention all the recorded in-game character dialogue.
https://overwatch.fandom.com/wiki/McCree/Quotes
If they DON’T change it in the code, then this entire thing is as transparent as it appears to be. It feels nothing more than a stunt, a knee jerk PR stunt to some how save face, regain faith, and favor. This is also a minor diversion so we don’t hear the paper shredders in the background quickly being bogged down and clogged as they try to hide an destroy evidence to the point they’ll probably have to set the building on fire to get everything.
I have even been told I don’t understand Sexual Abuse, and how this is for the victims of real life Jesse McCree, so they don’t have to see his name when working on this character/game.
No, I know abuse all to well.
My middle name is named after my father.
He was a physically, mentally, and sexually abusive man. He was a scum bag, and I wish I had stood up to him and gotten him out of my life sooner than I had.
The horrible things he did have left a scar upon my mind and psyche, and far worse to other family members.
Do you think the people who know my full name think of him when they see my middle name?
When my full name was called out at graduation, and during honors, do you think my family thought of my father and his actions?
My first name is after my Grandfather, Uncle, and Cousin. They all have done great things in their lives, do you think when someone refers calls my name, they think the others who share it in my family.
Simple answer… NO, they think of me. I am a separate person. I am myself and though I share these names with great men, and a horrible man… I am my own person and not held accountable to the actions of others.
The same goes for Jesse McCree. He is his own character, and not his fault his name sake is a total his pressure douche nozzle.
We have to be able to differentiate between the actions of a real life person, and a fictional character.
If not, then we’re headed for a very slippery slope.
Keep his name McCree, there really is no reason not to. Most people didn’t even know it was a reference to an employee until events of what happened behind the scenes got leaked. The name was picked because it fit the character simple as that, and it still does to this day.
You’ve already gone one step further and made the fictional character a much better person than the real life McCree ever could be. I think of the gunslinger as an outlaw with a true heart of gold. Go further with this, make him an outstanding honorable man, blatantly in the face of the jerk he was named after.
Heck, I’ve even heard people thought it was based off the Mad Dog McCree arcade games of the 90s, which I can totally see. The name just fits.
Thank you.
