Overwatch’s Former Boss Confirms There Was Never a Tracer Butt Nerf
It’s 2026, and Jeff Kaplan, the previous boss of Blizzard hero shooter Overwatchremains to be being requested about a supposed “nerf” to Tracer’s butt.
Cast your minds again to the easier occasions of 2016, when the world was quieter and greener, and Overwatch was nonetheless in beta. Amid a frenzy of pleasure for Blizzard’s subsequent massive franchise, one massive controversy stood out that soured some followers on the sport’s promise: Blizzard’s decision to alter a pose focused on lead character Tracer’s bottom.
Blizzard made the decision again in March 2016 to regulate the Tracer’s “Over the Shoulder” victory pose, after the character’s considerably suggestive positioning drew hearth from gamers. Their criticize — one which Kaplan finally mentioned he agreed with — was that he diminished Tracer “to another bland female sex symbol.”
After some debate, Kaplan confirmed the pose can be modified — and within a week it was donechanging its preliminary look with a alternative “Over the Shoulder” pose that gave followers extra of a side-on view.
Perhaps predictably, Blizzard’s determination to make the change additionally drew hearth — this time from gamers who mentioned the corporate had caved to “SJW” complaints. (Remember that acronym?) And now, 10 years on, with Kaplan long gone from Blizzard and busy selling his subsequent sport, it appears this determination remains to be a bugbear for some.
“‘Why did you guys nerf Tracer’s butt?'” Kaplan says, studying out a viewer query whereas enjoying his in-development cowboy survival shooter The Legend of California. “Uh, we actually didn’t nerf Tracer’s butt. It stayed exactly the same.
“That was a good riposte I simply had,” he then added.
As Kaplan seeks to generate curiosity in his new sport, the previous Blizzard icon has been making headlines, firstly with a tell-all interview through which he mentioned why he left Blizzard after almost 20 years — a determination he blamed on extreme financial pressures to deliver for Activision Blizzardor be held personally chargeable for 1,000 individuals shedding their jobs.
Next, Kaplan issued some choice words of advice to video game fans who like to criticize titles they’re never going to play themselves. “If a sport comes out, and you do not need to play it, and you have by no means performed it? Shut the f*** up. No one cares,” he said, again while streaming The Legend of California.
As for Overwatch, the sport continues to reply to fan suggestions concerning the design and presentation of its characters. Just this week, Blizzard revealed the new look for its hero Anranwhich it mentioned “moved away from that child face” design that gamers — and the character’s voice actress —had beforehand criticized.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can attain Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or discover him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
