Why did they remove the ‘skin’ of the ‘streamer’ Nickmercs from Call of Duty?

In late May 2023, players of popular first-person shooter titles were able to find a couple of new Operator Packs based on two popular game influencer streamers in the store. These were TimTheTatman and Nickmercs skins that could be used in Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and Modern Warfare IIbut the second ‘skin’ disappeared from both games after a nasty homophobic comment.

It all happened last Wednesday June 7th. Overwatch League presenter Chris Puckett posted on Twitter about the attacks people were receiving for supporting a Glendale, California, school recognizing June as LGBTI pride month. He said that the Americans were in a very sad situation and that you have to let people love who they love. Nickmercs responded by saying that they “should leave the kids aside from that.” That is a clear reference to the false arguments of the extreme right that classify LGBTI people as pedophiles.

The comment did not go down well with the community, which immediately criticized the ‘streamer’ for replicating extremist arguments.

Nickmercs ‘skin’ disappeared from Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare II the next day. When asked about it by CharlieINTEL on Twitter, received a response from the game’s official account. This says that “due to recent events we have removed the Nickmercs operator pack from the store Warzone and Modern Warfare II. We are focused on celebrating LGBTI pride month with our employees and community.”.

Players who had already purchased the ‘skin’ can keep it, but it will no longer be for sale.

While many applauded Activision’s decision, they also noted that This same company has been accused of multiple cases of labor and sexual abuse and harassment that they continue to deny despite being confirmed.