The Overwatch update removes the Russian “Z” from Zarya skins

A new update for over watch, which is tied to the game’s new Anniversary Remix event, also appears to have made a subtle change to two skins for Zarya, the hero shooter’s Russian soldier. Blizzard has apparently removed the letter “Z” from Zarya’s Arctic and Siberian Front skins, apparently in response to the letter’s mutating into a symbol of Russian nationalism. That single letter, which some refer to as “zwastika

“, meanwhile stands for “devotion to the state, murderous anger and irrepressible power”. The New Yorker writesamid the Russian attack on Ukraine.

Blizzard didn’t announce the change to Zarya’s pair of legendary skins Patch notes for Tuesday’s updatebut the subtle change was spotted by members of that over watch underreddit. As seen in the images below, the small Z on the upper left chest of Zarya’s jacket has been removed.

The change is minor but logical. Blizzard seems to be distancing itself and so is Zarya over watch‘s heroic Russian character, from the letter Z’s association with Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine and domestic support for the invasion fueled by state propaganda. The letter was spotted on Russian tanks and other military vehicles when Ukraine was attacked in February, but the Z’s intended meeting was initially unclear. Regardless of its original intent, the letter has morphed into a key symbol to signal its support for Russia’s increasingly brutal and violent siege of its neighbor.

Blizzard made similar content changes to over watch in the past six years: changing a victory pose for Tracer that fans considered overly sexualized; removing a snare spray; Changing the name of the hero formerly known as Jesse McCree; and offering refunds on a premium skin inspired by an Overwatch League player accused of sexual assault.

Polygon has reached out to Blizzard Entertainment for comment and will update when the company responds.