Blizzard scraps Overwatch graphic novel plans

Overwatch’s full length graphic novel is no more.

Overwatch: First Strike had been set to launch digitally this month and in print via Dark Horse next April.

We have decided to cancel the release of the Overwatch: First Strike graphic novel,” lead writer Michael Chu confirmed. While we are grateful to the team for the fantastic work they put into it, we’ve ultimately decided to take the story in a different direction.

The original idea for the graphic novel dates back to the early days of the game’s development and came from our desire to tell the story of the founding of Overwatch during the Omnic Crisis. In the years since First Strike’s conception, we have done a lot of development on the universe and its stories. While the core of this story remains, we have changed and expanded upon how we see the events that took place during the first days of Overwatch.

So for now the early adventures of Gabriel Reyes, Jack Morrison, Ana Amari, Reinhardt Wilhelm, Torbjrn Lindholm (and more!) wait for another day. But we know that this is a story that you are excited about, and it’s one we still plan to tell.”

The decision clearly has nothing to do with the performance of the game which can be described as nothing other than extraordinary.