The water pistol has has taken over all major online platforms, replacing the gun emoji.
First it was Apple and then Twitter. And just two days ago, Google announced it was changing its revolver emoji to a water pistol. Facebook also confirmed to Emojipedia on the same day that they too are in the process of making the switch. Which left Microsoft the last one standing.
Today, Microsoft finally joins in on the brigade and has ditched their revolver to an orange and green water pistol.
In a Tweet, the company said that the switch reflects their values and the feedback they’ve received.
Another important reason for the change is definitely for cross-platform communication.
Jeremy Burge, Emojipedia’s editor explains the importance of the consistency.
“When dealing with an emoji like this, the most important part is that there is some form of consistency between platforms. It probably doesn’t matter too much which eye is closed in the winking face emoji, but when we’re talking about the difference between a toy and a weapon the difference is important.”
