Microsoft joins Google and Facebook to replace pistol emoji with water gun

Microsoft will revamp its emoji collection starting with the pistol replaced by water gun.

A preview of Microsoft’s water gun emoji. (Microsoft)

Microsoft is the latest tech major to revamp its emoji collection. Microsoft on Thursday tweeted that it would be redesigning its emojis. The company also shared a preview of their new initiative with a water gun emoji.

Microsoft's decision comes soon after Google and Facebook replaced the 'pistol' emoji with a 'water gun' emoji.

"We are in the process of evolving our emojis to reflect our values and the feedback we've received," Microsoft tweeted on Thursday.

In a bid to fight the prevailing gun culture, tech majors including WhatsApp, Samsung and Twitter replaced the 'pistol' emoji with a water gun. This move was first started by Apple in 2016 by introducing a new green coloured water gun emoji. Apple has since then been making small changes to its water gun emoji. Twitter, Samsung and Google also followed suit this year with similar looking water gun emojis.

Microsoft hasn't confirmed when the company will roll out this change for its Windows 10 OS.