A "Call of Duty" pro received his own skin in the game. The outfit was removed after he spoke negatively about Pride Month in schools.
Glendale, California – Typically, June marks Pride Month, which celebrates members of the LGBTQ+ movement. Call of Duty also celebrates Pride Month with employees and fans, so streamer and professional Nickmercs (real name: Nick Kolcheff) receives a punishment when he makes negative comments on Twitter about taking place at schools. The FaZe Clan supporter takes a stand on the developer's reaction.
| Name of the game | Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 |
| Release | 16 November 2022 |
| Publisher | Activision |
| Row | Call of Duty |
| Developer | Infinity Ward |
| Platform | PS5, Xbox Series X, PC |
| Genre | First Person Multiplayer Online Shooter, Battle Royale |
| Business model | Free to Play |
'Call of Duty' pro loses prestigious achievement after anti-LGBTQ statement
What happened? At a school in Glendale, California, there was a scuffle between parents of the students. At the school, a vote was to be held on whether June should always be celebrated as Pride Month in the future. Supporters on both sides of the spectrum cracked down on each other so harshly that videos of the altercation went viral.
Nickmercs complains: On Twitter on June 8, CoD pro Nickmercs commented on one of the videos: "You should keep the little kids out of there. That's the real problem." The statement was quickly picked up by fans and media and hotly discussed. Only a short time later, the team behind Call of Duty came forward for his statement about Pride Month in schools and punished the streamer.
This is what they took away from him: On May 31, Nickmercs, along with TimTheTatMan, became the first streamer to receive his own operator skin in Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 – an extremely special award. Even in Fortnite, only eight streamers have their own skin among the more than 1,500 outfits. Less than two weeks after the release, the developer removed the bundle with the outfit from Nickmercs.
"Call of Duty" pro loses most important trophy because he complains © about Pride Month in schools Activision/Freepik (Montage)
'I'm not going to apologize': Nickmercs takes a stand after losing CoD skin
Streamer's statement: Confronted with the consequences of his statement, Nickmercs comments on Twitch and stands by his tweet. The streamer thinks he doesn't want anyone upset and declares that he's not a hateful person.
The CoD pro appeals to his fans, as well as the other side of the opinion spectrum, that there are different views. He recently became a father and wants to teach his children how to understand LGBTQ culture themselves. We have included a tweet with Nickmerc's statement at this point.
"I didn't want to upset anyone and I know I did. I'm not going to apologize for the tweet – it doesn't feel wrong. I stand by what I said and will not delete the tweet. I want to make sure that everyone understands exactly the point of view that I wanted to make clear."
Nickmercs on Twitch
Here's what the community has to say: Many Nickmercs players find it strong that the streamer stands by his opinion. Shooter streamer Dr. Disrespect also comments on the punishment of Call of Duty's PR and marketing team, calling the removal of the skin "pathetic". But some fans and streamers also disagree with Nickmercs' opinion.
