The “First Strike” graphic novel for Overwatch will not be published. The lead story writer explains why the project is being shelved.
If Overwatch is missing something, it is a coherent story and further information about the universe and its heroes. Sure, there are a handful of cinematics and some comics that at least roughly summarize the overarching plot. But that is not enough for most fans.
Therefore, Blizzard’s announcement that they will not publish the pending graphic novel “First Strike” for Overwatch is particularly disappointing for those who thirst for more story. The entire project has been canceled without replacement, despite being quite far along.
The lead writer Michael Chu explained the decision in the official forum:
“We are grateful to the team for the fantastic work they put into the project; however, we have decided to lead the story in a different direction.”
The original idea for the graphic novel comes from the early days of game development and stemmed from the desire to tell the story of the founding of Overwatch and the beginning of the Omnic crisis. In the years since the concept of “First Strike,” we have further developed the universe and the story. While the core story remains, we have changed a lot and rewritten some events that took place during the first days of Overwatch.”
Cortyn thinks: Wow, that would really annoy me as an artist or writer of such a graphic novel… hardly anything is worse than unpublished work. One can only hope that more of the stories will actually be published in the future, as the pace has rather slowed down in recent months.
More about the “origin story” behind Overwatch can be found here:
Overwatch Lore: What is it actually about? Here’s what you should know about the story
