The lead writer of the full-length Blizzard graphic novel titled, "Overwatch: First Strike", announced that the graphic novel is now canceled. Blizzard was said to cause the sudden decision to ultimately set the course of the story in a new direction.
"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." Michael Chu, the lead writer for First Strike said, revealing the cancellation of the graphic novel in an official statement on the Overwatch forums. Written by Micky Neilson and art from Ludo Lullabi, the graphic novel was supposed to be released digitally in November. Dark Horse Comics will follow with the print versions in April 2017.
The idea to create a graphic novel came during the early development stages of "Overwatch". First Strike seeks out to share the story of the founding of Overwatch, an organization composed of heroes from different nations to help during the Omnic crisis. Chu further explained that a lot of development have been created in order to propagate the lore of the game. Chu also added that they have changed and expanded the events that took place in the first days of Overwatch, as per his talk in Polygon.
"So for now, the early adventures of Gabriel Reyes, Jack Morrison, Ana Amari, Reinhardt Wilhelm, Torbjörn Lindholm (and more!) wait for another day," Chu declared. "But we know that this is a story that you are excited about, and it's one we still plan to tell." That said, Chu assured fans that Blizzard is well aware of fans' desire to learn more about this story, and still plans to tell it at some point in the future, according to IGN.
In related news, "Overwatch" recently wrapped up their free weekend deal starting from Nov. 18 to 21. Those who have played during the free weekend have their player data saved. "Overwatch: Origins Edition" is also on sale for $35.99 on the Battle.net site.