Activision Blizzard Is Giving Away A Free Name Change
As Overwatch’s McCree is getting his name changed to Cole Cassidy, Blizzard are also letting Battle.net users change their BattleTags for free.
Why Is Blizzard Letting Players Change Their Names?
The company announced the free change via a blog post on their official Overwatch website. It stated, "as we introduce a new name, you might have the desire to do the same. Starting October 22, 2021, and continuing through November 5, 2021, all players will be offered a free BattleTag name change. This applies to anyone who does not currently have a free name change available. Existing name changes will not stack for future use."
They continued: "Players can request a name change through this form. You will receive a notification once your request has been processed. Please allow up to four weeks for processing."
Considering the company's ongoing PR nightmare right now, this seems like a small act to recover some favour from fans, dovetailing from their change of McCree’s name.
Why Was McCree’s Name Changed?
Recently, Activision Blizzard has faced a lawsuit by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing after allegations of hostile working conditions and discrimination. As part of this, they have undertaken a commitment to removing any in-game references to the employees implicated in the lawsuit. One of which was a Blizzard designer, Jesse McCree, who was the namesake for the Overwatch character, and was let go in August after the lawsuit became public knowledge.
The company is clearly looking for whatever PR victory they can score right now, as they're under closer scrutiny than ever, and every week bears more bad news detailing their actions. Gamers who love some of their series are even protesting in-game against their working conditions that have lead to sexual harassment, unequal pay, and an environment where marginalized voices are suppressed.
They were even accused of directly destroying evidence related to the case recently, though they have claimed to fire over 20 employees linked to the lawsuit since it went public.
Frankly, Activision Blizzard will need to do more to earn gamers trust back than a free name change, including reanalysing the entire structure of their business, which seems toxic from top to bottom.