OVERWATCH: FIRST STRIKE Has Been Cancelled By Blizzard
Unfortunately the Overwatch: First Strike graphic novel that Blizzard planned to release has been officially axed. Click the jump to read more.
Fans of Overwatch may be disappointed in this news, but sadly the much anticipated graphic novel series Overwatch: First Strike has been canceled. The series was going to give a detailed history of the early years of the original Overwatch team. But the idea was officially scrapped once Blizzard decided to take the story and concept in a different direction entirely. Even though fans won't be able to get their hands on this novel any time soon, Blizzard has done a great job at providing online comics and animated shorts that give us some history regarding certain characters.
Here's what Michael Chu, the lead writer for the game, had to say:
Hey everyone,
I wanted to let you know that we have decided to cancel the release of the Overwatch: First Strike graphic novel. 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, Torbjörn 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.
I'd like to thank everyone for the enthusiasm, passion, and support you've shown towards the Overwatch universe. We have a number of stories in development that will delve deeper into the world and its heroes, and we can't wait to share them with you in the coming months.
Michael