The hero Zarya in Overwatch received some adjustments to her skins. Blizzard has not commented on this further, but it is obvious why the symbols have disappeared: One symbol worn by Zarya became a pro-Russian symbol of the war in Ukraine.
What happened to the skins? In Overwatch, a new event started on April 5. Fans noticed that Blizzard had altered Zarya’s skins. Previously, there was a “Z” on the skins, which Blizzard has now removed.
We show you on MeinMMO what the background of this change is and how players are reacting.
Two Zarya skins have been modified
Why did this happen now? In the new Overwatch Anniversary Remix event, old skins that were particularly popular with players have returned. Reddit users quickly noticed that two of these old skins are now altered in the game. The Russian hero Zarya (according to lore, she belonged to the Russian defense forces) has a wide variety of skins. The Arctic skin and the Siberian Front skin have now been changed – the letter “Z” has been removed from them.
The differences in the skins are shown by Reddit user Proto_VI. Below the fur collar, the old versions of the skins reveal the white “Z”.
What is behind this? On the skins in Overwatch, the letter Z originally stood for Zarya, but in connection with the current war in Ukraine, the letter has received a lot of attention:
- The letter was already seen on tanks and other military vehicles in recent weeks.
- The “Z” is considered a symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- In Germany, displaying the symbol may be punishable as it can be perceived as public approval of the Russian war against Ukraine (via Tagesschau.de).
– Ukraine Live Blog (via Zeit)
– War in Ukraine (via nzz)
– Solidarity with Ukraine (via auswärtiges-amt)
Important Note: If you are struggling with dark thoughts due to the current situation: You are not alone. Please seek help. For example, from the telephone counseling service at 0800/111 0 111 or the online counseling, where you can also use a chat. It’s free and applies nationwide.
There has been no public statement from Blizzard regarding the changes to the skins. However, it is believed that Zarya should not represent the symbol of the invasion of Ukraine and that the change to Zarya should make it clear that they are distancing themselves from it.
What does the “Z” stand for? There are several theories about why a “Z” is used as a symbol:
- Tagesschau believes that the “Z” stands for “Za Pobedu” – “For Victory” (via tagesschau.de)
- others think it might stand for “Zapad” (West)
- or it is speculated that the “Z” is a reference to the name of the Ukrainian president Zelenskyy (via dasding.de)
Has this ever happened before? An Overwatch character has already gained political significance: In South Korea, the Overwatch hero D.Va became a symbol for women’s rights in 2017. The heroine’s bunny became a protest symbol against misogyny.
In 2021, Blizzard made changes to a hero previously known as McCree. After a sexism scandal involving allegations against the namesake employee Jesse McCree, Blizzard wanted to clearly distance itself.
Now the cowboy is called Cole Cassidy and even has a story-based reason for the name change.
