​‘Okay’ Hand Gesture Removed From Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare And Warzone

The 'okay' hand gesture has been removed from Call of Duty, with many fans believing it is due to the symbol's ties to the far-right.

Reddit user u/C_Collins99 was reportedly one of the first people to spot that the option had disappeared entirely from the game's gesture menu, writing on the forum: "RIP to the 'okay' gesture."

Commonly used by underwater divers, the hand signal sees the thumb and forefinger joined together to make a circle, while the remaining three fingers point upwards - is used by many people as a way of asking if someone else is okay, or to confirm that they are indeed alright.

However, it has also been adopted as a hate signal by the far-right, with some gamers speculating that this has something to do with the removal of the gesture in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone.

Activision

While neither Activision nor Infinity Ward has commented on the change, gaming site EuroGamer has said it 'seems likely the gesture was pulled due to its status as a hate symbol'.

"The OK sign is no longer in the game, pulled on the quiet by Infinity Ward as part of Modern Warfare's mid-season update and replaced by a new gesture called 'crush'," EuroGamer said.

"There is no mention of the change in the official patch notes, but of course it didn't take players long to spot the difference."

Activision

It continued: "Its removal from Call of Duty probably has to do with the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement. Infinity Ward has issued strong statements in recent weeks, pledging to crack down on racism in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and even inserting a Black Lives Matter message into the game.

This isn't the first time the video game industry has taken action over the OK sign. Back in April 2019, Blizzard reportedly told a fan in the Overwatch League arena they were not allowed to use the OK sign after it was spotted on a stream and a complaint was made."

Whatever the reason, many fans aren't happy with the change.

One tweeted: "@CallofDuty before the mid season update there was a gift pack released with the ok symbol I snatched this pack just for the ok symbol but now its been replaced with another emote called crush. I don't want crush. I want the okay symbol. Please respond I'd like to know why this is."

Tweeting the official Call of Duty account, another asked: "Why was the ok emote removed?"

LADbible has contacted Activision for comment.

Topics: Call of Duty, Technology

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman