The new update of Overwatch has brought with it many new features, including a subtle modification of the aesthetics of Zarya, a well-known Russian soldier in the videogame. The developer has removed the iconic "Z" that accompanied the character from day one, as for the current state of affairs that could pass as a clear reference to Russian nationalism, as the eponymous letter was recently used to represent this movement.
The letter Z has come to represent "devotion to the state, murderous rage and uncontrolled power", at least so the New Yorker writes, during the chronicle of Russia's attack on Ukraine. Although Blizzard did not announce this change in the patch note at the time of the update on Tuesday, this thing did not go unnoticed by Reddit users, who as usual never miss one.
The change, albeit minor, seems very logical to us. Blizzard will surely want to distance themselves from certain things, and they will in no way want their Zarya to be attributable to the war between Russia and Ukraine, perhaps angry as a symbol of the crazy propaganda of Vladimir Putin's country.
The "Z" from Zarya’s Arctic and Siberian Front skins has been removed from the game from Overwatch
The letter was also spotted on Russian tanks and other military vehicles when Ukraine was invaded in February, although this symbol had gone unnoticed in the early stages of the fight. Regardless of its original intent, the letter became a key symbol to signal support for the siege increasingly brutal and violent than Russia.
Certainly at Blizzard they do not want any other scandals, other than the one for accusations of sexual harassment due to employees who, for a year now, have had very serious repercussions both on the company itself and on the world of video games, given that from that moment in then more and more indecent situations of this type have been publicly denounced.
