OK Hand Gesture Removed From Call Of Duty

The ‘OK’ hand gesture has been removed from Call of Duty Modern Warfare due to growing concerns about its as a hate symbol reported the Independent. The gesture had been a popular way for players of the multiplayer-shooting game to celebrate a victory. However, it has since metamorphized into a right-wing extremists way of signifying white power. Keeping this in mind, the gesture has now been replaced by an animated emote called a “crush”.

Meanwhile, the Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward has not offered any explanation as to why the ‘OK’ gesture has been removed from the game. However, a company tweet did acknowledge the issues with the sign.

“There is no place for racist content in our game. This is an effort we began with launch and we need to do a better job,” the company wrote in a June 3 Twitter post. “We’re issuing thousands of daily bans of racist and hate-oriented names. But we know we have to do more.”

Moreover, the game developers also stated that there will be increased efforts to monitor and identify racist content. This would be done by developing in-game reporting systems and improving name-change restrictions.

The removal of the sign has been a wing for gamers who have been asking Infinity Ward to take action against the gesture. It was first used as a racist sign around 2017 when it was popularized on message board 4chan.

Call of Duty has been a massively popular series with fans all around the world. While the gesture has been majorly appreciated, there are still those that are calling this an overreaction.