This is absurd and a big waste of resources that could instead be used on OW1 or even OW2 that is delayed time and time again.
After 6 years, making a change like that to a beloved character makes no sense, people will still remember and call the hero in the game as McCree.
At most, simply change part of his name from Jessie Mccree to John or James Mccree, but please keep the MCCREE part in the name.
This change will most likely delay OW 2.
IMO people are hardcore overreacting and the vibes I get from it are way off.
I get hes a well loved character but changing his name is the right thing to do. He doesnt coincidentally share the same name a predator, he was purposefully named after one (obviously just not known at the time). Whether a good chunk of the overwatch community knew the connection or not, a fair amount did and Its not a stretch to assume every person in the team knew it. If I worked there, I certainly would hate having to work on a character every day when in the back of my mind after all the stuff that came out I would be thinking about the guy who could have assaulted my coworkers.
Its just a fictional cowboy, getting rid of the ties that were put there for a real life predator isnt a big deal, and the people who think their personal attachment to a name is more important than the attachment of the name to a predator is gross.
SMH 
it is a bit strange tho if you look at the bigger picture. i can look up my full name on google right now and there are thousands of people with my name and some with mugshots that did serious crimes. i can name my newborn after an actor but later that actor would commit an atrocity. that name that is mine or a newborn kid doesnt define me or any newborn
its just a label right?
jesse mccree ingame is a hero, not a male chauvenistic female grabber? (well we dont know lol they never digged into his story). say if he was? wouldnt he be an anti-villian?
Kinda annoying how theyâre catering to a lot of the twitter folks, but that being said, itâs not really the end of the world that the names being changed.
I donât care if his name changes. Just make it work. And you better not kill off his character or change his personality.
note that the only people who really complain about change are men lol
They named the character after an employee they recently had to fire, presumably for sexual harassment.
Blizzard is currently involved in a massive lawsuit after a 2 year investigation that showed that they allowed women to be harassed and mistreated. There is even suicide involved.
The real Jesse McCree was seen taking part in a group called the Cosby Suite, where one of the biggest abusers named in the suit would harass women. McCree was part of that group and praising the harasser. He has since been let go. He did not work for the Overwatch team. The character was named after him and he gave his permission for the name, but it was not named to honor him.
Some of the female developers have wanted things to be changed in-game in addition to sweeping reform to how they handle harassment and pay disparities in the workplace.
This name change is part of that.
I know many of the details are decidedly not public yet, but a quick question, will partial names be allowed in future? i.e. I think a few fans would love to see Jeff Kaplan remembered in the game, as an example could he be named Jeff âcowboyâ Deadeye?
apparently being referenced in an ongoing civil suit = convicted of a crime.
99% of people here donât even understand the difference between civil and criminal cases. this is just low information social media mob rule.
No hints or allusions to the new name for Cowboy here.
As to if we believe itâs worth itâŚ
We believe it is the right thing to do to represent the values of the talented and diverse game development professionals for whom Overwatch is a labor of love.
Your kid wonât potentially have his victims working to make him cool stuff, hopefully.
Itâs not just the players feelings that need to be considered, but the female developers too. What will help make them feel safer in their workplace after the abuse they had to endure?
This is an easy symbolic gesture that will likely make them feel better. But more change is 100% needed this is too small on itâs own, but still helps improve their work environment.
1. What will happen to your old YouTube videos with the previous hero name?
Previous content will remain unaltered. This affects content moving forward, both in game and out (as soon as weâre able to implement in game).
2. Will you be send strikes to everyone for using previous hero name, ban channels and delete all community content?
No. We understand that itâs going to take time to get used to Cowboyâs new identity. Heck weâve been working through adjusting our language internally to reflect the change (referring to him as Cowboy).
So i guess Joel McCree it is.
Just change his first name to Joel 
His name is now Gregory McGree.
I will hear no complaints.
The bar for âgetting sent to prisonâ is a bit higher than the bar for ânot having a cool cowboy named after youâ.
I know you guys said that you cannot give hints as to the new name.
But can you at least tell us, with absolutely no intended hints or obligations, that you are still aware of his existing lore that his name may not have been McCree anyway?
Sombra says this to him as a voiceline, and there is old promotional matieral where his name is Joel.
Obviously this doesnât mean youâd stick to that either, itâs just a possible pen name. But I think it would make some of us feel better about the consideration you are giving the name if we knew careful consideration invovled all of his old lore.
I am really glad you are being as vocal as you are allowed to be
Dont feel bad about all the toxicity hereâŚas sad as it is, its normal on the forums