Activision removes NICKMERCS Call of Duty bundle after controversial Pride Month comments

Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff’s very own Call of Duty bundle has been removed from the in-game store just one day after his controversial Pride Month comments caught fire on social media.

NICKMERCS drew the ire of thousands of Twitter users on June 8 upon sharing a controversial Pride Month comment. After claiming that children should be ‘left alone’ in schools and not educated on LGBTQIA+ topics, the streamer became the focal point amid a wave of backlash.

The next morning, the content creator took to Twitch and stood by his comments, assuring that he “didn’t mean to upset anybody,” but nonetheless reiterating that he believes school is no “place to speak about things like that.

“It’s not that I think it shouldn’t be spoken about. If that’s what you got from that tweet, then you’re just wrong.”

Now just hours after this stream, Activision has taken a stance on the matter. Weeks after the arrival of NICKMERCS’ very own custom cosmetic pack in the CoD store, the first of its kind streamer skin alongside TimTheTatman, his bundle has now been removed.

Due to recent events, we have removed the “NICKMERCS Operator” bundle from the Modern Warfare II and Warzone store. We are focused on celebrating PRIDE with our employees and our community.

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) June 9, 2023

“Due to recent events, we have removed the NICKMERCS Operator bundle from the Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone store,” Activision confirmed on June 8.

“We are focused on celebrating Pride with our employees and our community.”

For the time being, a few things remain unclear. Firstly, there’s no telling if this is a temporary decision by the CoD publisher or a permanent move. Second, it’s also yet unclear if this consequence will soon extend to existing owners of the bundle.

In a similar instance under the Activision Blizzard umbrella in recent years, the Overwatch League designed unique MVP skins for the year’s standout player. 2019’s MVP was Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won, an OW-turned-Valorant pro that was later shrouded in controversy of his own.

Following abuse allegations, the custom in-game Zarya skin was manually changed by the developers to distance from the player. Furthermore, anyone who purchased the skin could remove it from their collection and even claim a refund too. We’re yet to hear if CoD will be following suit with the NICKMERCS bundle. Obviously the two situations are vastly different.

NICKMERCS is yet to respond to the news of his bundle’s removal. We’ll be sure to keep you updated here as any further details emerge.