The majority of the DPS mains instalock McCree, especially if you’re in the game now, you’ll see McCree in every game after the ban has been lifted.
Those are genuine mains and nothing like the instalocker trolls of Hanzo and Widow.
He’s just a simple guy with a revolver. Is it because of his powerful realistic abilities and the ol Texan cowboy attitude that made him a popular choice?
He’s just really good right now. Ever since the Hanzo nerfs, McCree kind of took over as being one of the more well-rounded DPS. Reliable damage, stun, instantkill combo, even if Deadeye doesn’t get kills, it’s fast charging and good for zoning. McCree’s kit is also more simple to pick up than some of the other DPSes.
I don’t think it’s a question of “realism” but having a satisfying gun. If Orisa’s felt as good to use, she’d be popular to play as, too.
Funny thing is, i remember a while back where almost every one was slamming how bad Mccree is.
His lack of movement ability becomes a huge downside when the game is almost all about hyper-mobility.
its because hes the only hero with a hard stun and reliable damage (hitscan) that can also be used far range in the dps slot.
Cowboy go “yeehaw”
Sergio Leone did.
He is mostly popular in deathmatch. Probably because his weapon is accurate. Idk.
I think he’s just satisfying and reliable to play. Even back when he wasn’t super good, he was still a pretty popular hero. Felt like it to me at least. No matter how inadequate he has been called, during double shield or dive, deathball, NIP comp, hogrisa, even the goats era in ranks where goats wasn’t mandatory, it felt like a lot of people still played (and accepted people playing) him.
Personally I think he just has a very robust kit. These are all my takes so take it with some salt - It’s hard to just outheal his damage and his damage isn’t nearly as unreliable as the likes of Hanzo or Widowmaker, so it’s something that feels achievable. His two tap potential is very strong too, far stronger than his sustain damage alternatives. He isn’t overly biased towards a gimmick like ice walls or turrets, so he’s useful in many general situations. He’s an accepted skill based counter to many heroes and he’s also a skill based equal to far more, with a decent mccree being able to easily go toe to toe with characters who should otherwise outclass similar off-meta or more specialized picks. Similarly there isn’t really a “hard counter” for mccree - the matchup against those who should demolish him (widow at range, for example) are still largely heavily skill based. So there isn’t a huge worry like, “aw crap, he picked cree…” it’s more performance based like, “bro you’ve fed for 3 minutes get off cree”. His largest downfall, a lack of mobility or sustain, is something that’s really only exploited with coordination. Coordination like that just isn’t something that you see often in ladder even in high ratings. It’s often weak enough that both teams can end up with an even playing field.
I play him because of his personality, character, and revolver. I dont play him just because he’s good now, I always played him even when he was consider c tier.
Yeah I think its the design mainly, and the fact he’s literally point and click, not much thought until you get into positioning. There are a lot of McCrees, there are not that many good McCrees however 
He’s an easy point and click character that’s overtuned.
He is a good alrounder and most importantly…
He’s hot
Sorry sorry, I’m sorry…
Good hero, fun, requires good aim.
Funny you say that, my aim is not great, but I find aiming with him easier than many other characters, esp. after that last buff. I guess if your a flick shot player his kit works better, esp. with microflicks now.
He’s called ‘Flashbang Mcgee’ for a reason!
He’s incredibly required, because if you don’t have one, Genji, Doomfist, Reinhardt and Mei can all run rampant in your team.
He also conveniently shuts down pesky escaped from a host more heroes, all the while offering lots of damage pressure.
Well his kit is simple but very powerful.
His primary fire hits quite hard, has crit ability, pinpoint precision, and is mid-ranged. He reloads quick, has a middling mobility cooldown that also reloads for him, and he’s a monster in close-range combat.
So he’s a hitscan generalist with a very broad range where he’s useful. Basically you’ll never run into a situation where he’s less useful than any other DPS character -> which by the way is a sign of an overtuned character even if they aren’t overpowered. It’s how you obsolete, or relegate to lower tiers, a large section of your roster. By making one character too useful in every situation, which is not in any way overpowered I must stress. Again, it just means one hero is tuned too high and making others irrelevant.
I see a lot of smurfs running him, because getting value out of him is strictly mechanical aim and not really cooldown management. The latter helps, of course, but his lack of reliance on abilities means that he’s always potent. As opposed to something like Orisa where you can call out a rush on her because her fortify is on cooldown, you never have a moment like that with 'Cree.
I think it’s because his playstyle is just classic fps
and yea people want to be the cool cowboy
Being more powerful than other picks tends to make a hero popular.