One of Zarya’s legendary skins in Overwatch has received an unannounced but very important change with the game’s recent patch: The skin no longer has a Z on it. This is remarkably important. See, if you’ve somehow missed it, the Z has become a symbol of the Russian military during its invasion and brutal attack upon Ukraine (the meaning of the symbol is ambiguous, but there’s a good breakdown available if you want to dig into that rabbit hole). Zarya’s Z predates the invasion, but it was obviously a bad look for a Russian character in a video game to retain in 2022.
Blizzard hasn’t publicized this change, but fans noted first on the game’s subreddit that the Z was now gone from her outfit (it previously was placed on the upper-left portion of her costume just below the collar). This is hardly the first time that Blizzard has modified a portion of the game in response to player outcry and/or thinking better of a decision, but it’s clearly a good sign of the team standing in solidarity with a good cause.
And no, we don’t know why the outfit had a Z in the first place. Maybe she just likes her initials. (The skin long predates the letter being a war symbol, for the record.)
Activision-Blizzard is considered a controversial gaming company owing to a long string of scandals over the last few years, including the Blitzchung boycott, mass layoffs, labor disputes, and executive pay fiasco. In 2021, the company was sued by California for fostering a work environment rife with sexual harassment and discrimination, the disastrous corporate response to which compounded Blizzard’s ongoing pipeline issues and the widespread perception that its online games are in decline. Multiple state and federal agencies are investigating the company as employees strike and call for Bobby Kotick’s resignation. As of 2022, the company is being acquired by no less than Microsoft.
