2021 has proven to be a challenging year for Activision Blizzard, with the company needing to make many changes both in their workplace and in their games. After numerous allegations and lawsuits claiming the company’s studios are full of workplace harassment and discrimination, Blizzard has especially been the focus of wrongdoing. As such, Blizzard has seen leadership changes and has confirmed that they would be changing the name of Overwatch’s McCree, due to the character’s namesake being an employee responsible for much toxicity. Now, Blizzard has released a new Overwatch comic book that goes into the in-universe reasons for the character’s name change.

Blizzard Entertainment has released the full first issue of their new Overwatch comic series focused on the character formerly known as McCree on their official Overwatch website. The first of five new issues by Dark Horse Comics mostly focuses on the now-named Cole Cassidy meeting up with fellow hero Ana Amari in Cairo, with their exchange of dialogue going into Cole’s past. Cassidy makes mention of his participation in past groups, such as the Deadlock Gang and Blackwatch, and his intent on avoiding making past mistakes again. This would seem to suggest that Cole Cassidy was his original name held within these groups, but later changed to McCree in his attempt to redeem himself. While this is ironic considering the real-life name origins, the comic does somewhat acknowledge the need for people to make changes in their life and learn from mistakes, while also acknowledging that their past selves make up who they are today to some extent.

Blizzard has also conveniently started a special event in Overwatch called Cassidy’s New Blood Challenge that ties into the new Overwatch comic series and helps re-introduce the character with his new name. Players can earn new icons, sprays and skins that match Cassidy’s appearance in the new comic series by winning matches in Quick Play, Competitive and Arcade matches. There are also additional sprays that can be won by watching Overwatch Twitch streams. The items in this special event can be won from now until November 23rd. While the name McCree may be gone for good reasons, the character still lives on in his re-born form as Cole Cassidy, and it’s High Noon for his better future.

What do you guys think about the new Overwatch comic explaining McCree’s name change? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to stay tuned for the latest Blizzard news, such as Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 getting delayed due to the leadership changes at Blizzard, here on Don’t Feed the Gamers! Follow us on Twitter to see our updates the minute they go live!