Activision has pulled the Nickmercs Operator Bundle from theCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2andWarzonein-game stores, following homophobic comments made by the streamer earlier this week.While those who’ve purchased the bundle already can still use it in-game, others are now unable to purchase the bundle, with no word on if or when it will be made available for sale.RELATED:Nickmercs Is An Embarrassment To The Apex Legends CommunityIn a tweet, the official Call of Duty account said that the Nickmercs Operator Bundle, which includes cosmetics, weapon blueprints, and the Nickmercs Operator himself, was removed due to “recent events”, and that it is “focused on celebrating PRIDE with our employees and our community”.
Earlier this week,Overwatch League host Chris Puckettshared a video on Twitter of LGBTQ+ protestors being attacked outside of a California schoolboard meeting. In his tweet, he said “Americans are in a sad place right now. Let people love who they love and live your own life.”
Nickmercs seemingly took issue with this harmless statement, replying with “they should leave little children alone. That’s the real issue”.
This is playing up the decades-old homophobic rhetoric alleging LGBTQ+ people are paedophiles, and that the existence of queer people should be kept away from children ‘for their own safety’. June is Pride month, of course, and so selling a bundle for someone who has likened LGBTQ+ people to paedophiles would have been bad optics on Activision’s part.
Nickmercs later doubled down on his statements on-stream, saying he “doesn’t think school should be the place to speak about things like that”, and that being a new father has given him a “bigger perspective” of the issue. He also says he’s “not apologising”, as he “doesn’t feel it’s wrong”.
Unfortunately, other members of the esports community also weighed in to defend Nickmercs, with fellow FaZe clan memberRain described the move as “fucked up”. Meanwhile, Heelmike – perhaps best known for being banned from Kick forreceiving a blowjob while on stream– called Activision a“spinless [sic] company”.
The bundle included the Nickmercs Operator and the Spartan and Hooded skins for it, as well as blueprints for the Fate LMG and Plan A shotgun, the Kickin’ It finishing move, and other cosmetics related to the streamer like weapon charms and emblems. Before its removal, it had only been in the store for eight days, having launched on May 31. Activision has yet to confirm if it will return the bundle to the games in the future.
In 2021, it removed an Overwatch skin based on theformer pro player Sinaatra, and even offered refunds to players who had bought it. Activision has not yet announced if it will be offering the same thing to players who bought Nickmercs’ skins in Call of Duty.
