Blizzard uses the comic series, along withanimated media, fictional news reports, and online character biographies, to develop the narrative ofOverwatch, as thevideo game includes no traditional story orcampaign mode.
Blizzard did not include a traditional campaign or story mode in theOverwatch video game.[1] Instead, Blizzard opted to develop the story and lore of theOverwatch universe through atransmedia storytelling method, includinganimated shorts and comic titles.[2]
On the approach to the storytelling, senior game designer Michael Chu, stated, "it was a solution that was born out of the kind of game we were making, because multiplayer shooter, obviously usually doesn't have a linear story. We had to think about other things, and we knew from day one that we wanted to make a significant Overwatch universe."[3] Chu has also elaborated on how Blizzard decides which stories to tell through a comic format, stating, "every time we approach a story, very much like the skins, we have this backlog of story ideas, and hooks that we'd like to explore. We decide which ones we feel are the most exciting or make sense for the present. Like if we do a comic, comics are better for telling certain types of stories," adding, "we really decide what kind of story we want to tell, what's the story that we're going to tell, and then it's all about, lets figure out the best way to do this."[3]
Blizzard announced they would release six digital comics prior to the game's May 24, 2016 release, in addition to a graphic novel titledOverwatch: First Strike, set for a release later in 2016.[4]First Strike was later revealed to have a November 2016 digital release, in addition to an April 2017 hardcover release.[5] On April 21, 2016,Train Hopper, headlining the cowboy characterMcCree, became the firstOverwatch comic title released by Blizzard.[6] This issue, as well as all subsequent issues of the comic title, were published for free.[7]
The comic series is published in cooperation withDark Horse Comics, who republish the series on their own digital comic service.[8] Animated versions, or animatics,[9] of the comic's issues are also produced and released by Madefire Studios, an interactive comics publishing platform, shortly after they are released on Blizzard's own service.[10][11] Madefire's animated versions are viewable onBattle.net, as well.[10]
Although Blizzard initially announced six comic issues to be released,[4] they publishedLegacy, featuring Ana in July 2016.[12] Ana was also the first character to be added into the game post-release.[12] Later in the month, Blizzard and Dark Horse announced a deal that would have Dark Horse publish future comic works centered around theOverwatch universe, as well as theFirst Strike graphic novel and an art book.[8][13] Blizzard later released holiday themed issues,Junkenstein andReflections, in October and December 2016, respectively.[10] InReflections, the characterTracer is portrayed in a lesbian relationship, making her the firstOverwatch character to be confirmed canonically LGBT.[14] As a result, access to this issue was made unavailable in Russia, to avoid legal conflict withthe country's gay propaganda law.[15]
On November 18, 2016, Blizzard announced it had canceled the release of theFirst Strike graphic novel.[5] In the cancellation announcement, Michael Chu detailed that "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."[5] Chu added that "in the years sinceFirst 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."[5] Micky Neilson and Ludo Lullabi were slated to be the writer and artist for the graphic novel, respectively.[16]
A hardcover collection of the first twelve issues of theOverwatch digital comics titledOverwatch: Anthology, Volume 1 was released on October 10, 2017.[17][18] Dark Horse published an expanded edition of the anthology in November 2021,[19] with a hardcover version released on December 1.[20] The Russian edition ofAnthology, Volume 1 originally did not include theReflections issue to meet the original game's 12+ age restriction, although the issue was included in the 18+ rated 2021 re-issue of the anthology.
In April 2018, Blizzard releasedRetribution, the 16th issue of the comic series to tie-in with the game'sArchive: Retribution event.[21][22] No further issues of the series were released after this, though Blizzard later released further comic titles featuringOverwatch characters beginning withTracer—London Calling, a five-issue mini-series.[23]
^Robert Brooks was credited as the writer for issues 1, 3, and 14.
^Matt Burns was credited as the writer for issues 2, 9, 11, and 16; for issue 9, he is credited as the writer for story only. For issue 11, he is co-credited for its script.
^Andrew Robinson was credited as the writer for issues 4–5, 7, and 15.
^Micky Neilson was credited as the writer for issue 6.
^Michael Chu is credited as the writer for issues 8–10 and 12–13. For issue 9, he is credited as the writer for plot only. For issues 12 and 13, he is credited for the issue's script.
^Jame Waugh is credited as the writer for issue 11; specifically, he is co-credited for the issue's script.
^Joelle Sellner is credited as the writer for issue 15; specifically, she is co-credited for the issue's script.
^abBengal was credited as the artist for issues 1 and 7–8. Bengal was also credited as the colorist for issue 1.
^abNesskain was credited as the artist for issues 2 and 5. Nesskain was also credited as the colorist for both of these issues.
^abGray Shuko was credited as the artist for issues 3, 6, 9, 12, and 16. Shuko was also credited as the colorist for issues 3 and 6.
^abJeffrey "Chamba" Cruz was credited as the artist for issue 4. Cruz was also credited as the colorist for issue 4.
^Miki Montlló was credited as the artist for issues 10 and 14.
^Ryan Benjamin was credited as the artist for issue 13.
^John J. Hill was credited as the graphic designer for issue 13.
^Kate Niemczyk was credited as the artist for issue 15.
^Espen Grundetjern was credited as the colorist for issue 11.
^Robert Simpson and Cate Gary were jointly credited as the editors for issues 1–6. From issues 7 onwards, Simpson was solely credited as the lead editor, and Gary was solely credited as the senior editor.
^Logan Lubera was credited as the art editor for issues 1–6.
^Allison Monahan was credited as the associate copy editor for issue 13.
^The publication date information is provided for the original digital publication date on PlayOverwatch.com.
^abcdThe character of Cassidy was named McCree at the time of this issue's release.
^Although the official blog post announcingDestroyer was released on May 26, 2016,[29] Blizzard published the comic on May 24.[30]
