Live-streaming platform Twitch has removed an emote from its platform called “TwitchCop.” The emote shows a cartoon character in a nondescript police uniform blowing a whistle. A spokesperson for Twitch confirmed to The Verge that they’d removed the emote “to prevent misuse” but did not offer more detail.

It can be assumed the removal is related to ongoing protests against police brutality and racism sparked by the killing of George Floyd by law enforcement. As protests have spread across the US, social media has been flooded with videos of unprovoked police brutality, as officers respond to peaceful protestors with pepper spray, truncheons, and rubber bullets.

Although judging by comments on social media it doesn’t seem like the emote was well-known, it’s possible users could have used it to troll or harass black streamers.

Image: Twitch

Emotes on Twitch are small images used by viewers to react to livestreams. Some, like “TwitchCop,” are global emotes, created by Twitch itself and available across all streams. Others are created by Twitch Partners and Affiliates (aka popular streamers) and available solely in their own channels. Emotes are incredibly varied, and can have different meanings depending on the context in which they’re used.

The “TwitchCop” emote seems to have been added to the platform’s global emotes after a vote in 2017. The official listing for the emote has been taken down but is still viewable via a cached URL. It’s not clear if it will be restored to the platform in the future.

A spokesperson for Twitch told The Verge: “We made the decision to proactively pull down the TwitchCop emote to prevent misuse. We are constantly evaluating our policies to ensure we are addressing emerging behaviors and language on our platform.”

Namco has a new range of Famicom (NES) games coming out for the Nintendo Switch this month, and it includes an unexpected bonus: a NES demake of Pac-Man Championship Edition, the incredibly good reimagining of Pac-Man released for the Xbox 360 in 2007.

Pac-Man CE transformed Pac-Man from a plodding stage-based game into a fast-paced time attack where every round lasts five minutes and you’re racing to get the highest score possible. It was designed for widescreen TVs and featured pulsating neon HD graphics, but it would have been perfectly playable on older hardware — its advancement was entirely in smart game design. An NES version, then, should work out pretty well.

“What we wanted to do was to make an HD game based on the core fundamentals of what Pac-Man is and why it succeeds,” director Tadashi Iguchi told Gamasutra in 2008. “After looking at that, we realized that really, the only things we should be changing are the game tempo and the map design.”

As such, Pac-Man CE ramps up in speed far more quickly than the original, with pellet patterns guiding you through the shifting map layouts as the iconic ghosts lay chase. It’s a masterwork of simplicity, and even its own sequels never quite recaptured the magic.

Namcot Collection will be released in packaged form with the full range of titles, but it’ll also be available through a free portal app on the Switch eShop, with each game individually purchasable as DLC. Buy ten or more of them and you’ll be able to download Pac-Mac CE for free, Game Watch reports. It’s not clear how much each title will cost, but the packaged version is priced at 2,640 yen (about $25).

Here’s the list of games available:

• Pac-Man
• Galaga
• The Tower of Druaga
• Battle City
• Star Luster
• Family Jockey
• Yokai Dochuki
• Wagan Land
• Dragon Spirit: The New Legend
• Mendel Palace
• Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti

Namcot Collection will be released on June 18th in Japan. It features standard retro collection features like save states and various screen display settings. No Western release has been announced, but the Switch is region-free and the collection supports English, so it shouldn’t be too hard to play one way or another.

Epic Games has delayed Fortnite’s next in-game live event and the start of the game’s next season due to widespread outrage over the death of George Floyd and ongoing police brutality in response to protests around the country. The in-game live event, titled “The Device,” will now take place on June 15th. The next season, called Chapter 2 Season 3, will begin on June 17th.

“We’re acutely aware of the pain our friends, families, team members, players, and communities are experiencing,” Epic said in a blog post. “We believe in equality and justice, diversity and inclusion, and that these fundamentals are above politics. The team is eager to move Fortnite forward, but we need to balance the Season 3 launch with time for the team to focus on themselves, their families, and their communities.”

This is the third delay for the start of the new season. The first delay was announced in April, and the second was announced last week. This is the second delay for The Device event, which was delayed for the first time last week.

Many other planned tech and gaming events have been delayed or postponed because of the protests. Sony postponed a PS5 event planned for June 4th. EA postponed the announcement of Madden 21. And Google postponed an unveiling of new features coming in Android 11 that had been scheduled for today.