Debuting his own Modern Warfare 2 operator skin during MW2 Season 3 Reloaded, Twitch star Nicholas ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff is now having his bundle removed from the latest Call of Duty game. The COD store bundle, which was also available in Warzone 2 and dropped alongside another starring YouTube streamer Timothy ‘TimTheTatMan’ Betar, is now vaulted as a result of recent comments made by NICKMERCS regarding Pride Month.
Activision confirms the decision via the official COD Twitter account, explaining that “due to recent events, we have removed the ‘NICKMERCS Operator’ bundle from the Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone store.” Furthermore, Activision assures the game’s community that it is “focused on celebrating PRIDE with our employees and our community.”
The absence of NICKMERCS‘ bundle stems from comments that the streamer made about educating children on LGBTQIA+ topics in schools, as he suggests that “they should leave little children alone. That’s the real issue.” NICKMERCS’ comments are in relation to a series of viral altercations, after the Glendale school board elected to recognize Pride Month in schools, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Peers within the streaming and Apex Legends community quickly address the issue with a series of responses, including VEXED Gaming coach Levi ‘Loopy‘ Arnett. “I will never work/watch an MFAM event again. I cannot in good conscience work for a bigot,” says Loopy.
“It’s a shame. When I got the chance to play with Nickmercs he was so sweet towards me […] but what I saw today broke my heart. Unfortunate to see him stoop down to the groomer narrative,” adds trans Apex Legends player ‘Luciian‘.
NICKMERCS follows up his comments in a Twitch streamer, claiming that his statement wasn’t intended to offend anyone – despite sticking by his stance on the topic. “I didn’t mean to upset anyone, I know that I did. I’m not apologizing about the tweet because I don’t feel like it’s wrong,” explains the streamer.
Fellow streamer Guy ‘Dr Disrespect‘ Beahm IV pitches in his thoughts on Activision’s handling of the situation: “Who’s running Call of Duty PR and Marketing now? [The] same people from the purple snakes? Pathetic.” The Doc’s past with Twitch is well documented and his vitriol toward the streaming platform is still apparent.
While he has addressed the backlash to his tweet, NICKMERCS is yet to comment on the removal of his MW2 and Warzone 2 skin.