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The Russian «Z» symbol on Zarya skins has been adopted by Russians who support the invasion of Ukraine.
The Overwatch Anniversary Remix event kicked off yesterday with in-game rewards including a range of fan-favorite skins. But users on Reddit and the Blizzard forums quickly noticed that at least a couple of them have been subtly altered: The «Z» that was previously on Zarya’s Arctic and Siberian Front skins is no longer there.
The Z is clearly a Zarya monogram, but more recently it’s gained infamy as the symbol used by Russian forces invading Ukraine. The letter doesn’t actually exist in the Cyrillic alphabet, leading to speculation that it’s an anglicized abbreviation of the Russian word for «West,» or a phrase meaning «for victory.» Either way, it’s also been adopted by segments of the Russian public as a symbol of their support for the war.
In Russia, the letter Z has become a pro-war symbol of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It was first spotted on tanks and military vehicles, but now it seems to be gaining support from Russian civilians. @PhilBlackCNN has the story. pic.twitter.com/MZNMlCIJdQMarch 8, 2022
Blizzard hasn’t yet commented on the removal, but it seems almost impossible that the change could have been made for any other reason. Zarya—full name Aleksandra Zaryanova—was a Russian soldier prior to joining Overwatch, and regardless of original intent, the presence of that «Z» on her uniform is incredibly inappropriate now.
Despite Blizzard’s silence, there’s no mistaking the change—as you can see in these before-and-after pictures shared by ProtoVI on Reddit, the Z is clearly gone:
I’ve reached out to Blizzard for comment on the change, and will update if I receive a reply.
Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.
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