Blizzard and Dark Horse Join Forces for Overwatch Graphic Novel

There’s no denying the popularity of Overwatch, a game that already boasts in excess of 10 million players across PC, PS4 and Xbox One. While the sizable roster of characters (which expanded by one recently) all have rich backstories that tie into the fictional Overwatch organization, there is little linking the past of that world and the present, where Overwatch heroes and its numerous enemies are re-emerging in the world. Animated shorts and comics have gone some way to bridge this gap and flesh out the characters, but now a graphic novel in the works by Dark Horse Comics may be about to expand the world quite substantially.

According to reports by IGN, the deal between Blizzard and Dark Horse makes up two parts. Firstly, Dark Horse will be republishing Blizzard’s digital Overwatch comics on their own online comic service. Following this, a 100-page Overwatch graphic novel will be published by the firms in April 2017. Exactly what the stories included in it will be have been kept quiet, but it is known that it will focus on the original Overwatch strike team. Lastly, an Overwatch artbook will be published in oversized hardback format, titled The Art of Overwatch and is set to release by Summer 2017.

The current sparse status of Overwatch’s lore has been explained by Blizzard through interviews as a deliberate decision by the team. Instead, they want players to fill in the blanks themselves, forming their own opinions on parts of the game’s setting and discussing them with the many other Overwatch fans out there. A good story is always important however and many fans will cling onto every chance they can get to learn a little bit more about their favourite heroes and the world in which they live. Plus, providing even more lore information for fans to digest is just going to fuel their opinions and discussions on what they don’t know for sure anyway!