AdHoc's Dispatch is being uncensored on Nintendo Switch, at least partially

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The bat monster man named Sonar in Dispatch raising his middle finger, but it's blurred out
Source: AdHoc Studio

Hey there. A fun story today that drew my attention because of what an unusual situation it is. When AdHoc Studio brought its hit narrative-driven superhero game Dispatch to Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, players were unexpectedly faced with a seriously censored version of the game.

Now, alongside an explanation for what happened, a patch is optionally rescinding that censorship...well, most of it, anyway. There are still a couple of things that remain locked on Nintendo's platform.

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A more complete picture

Text saying "Dispatch: HR Violations Pack" next to a glowing green man with jean shorts awkwardly photoshopped on.
Source: AdHoc Studio

Dispatch first launched on PS5 and PC back in 2025, releasing new episodes every week until the story was complete. The game was a critical hit, and rapidly went on to sell over two million copies in its first month.

AdHoc Studio explains that when the team first brought Dispatch to Nintendo's systems, the team suddenly learned that different versions of the game in different regions would require different levels of censorship. Faced with a shortage of resources, the studio opted to use a single Nintendo Switch build that complied with the harshest restrictions.

Players were obviously not informed of this ahead of launch, and the studio claims it is "truly sorry" for what unfolded, and is trying to make things right with the free HR Violations Pack update, which adds various options for partial censorship.

With this update, players in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand can opt to view butts, boobs, and flippant gestures without restriction. If they do still want to have the game censored, there are new options outside of the black bar, with visual blurring or silly objects like Toxic's jean shorts (as seen above).

Still, Dispatch isn't entirely uncensored on Switch, as AdHoc Studio claims Nintendo has a couple of basic requirements that cannot be budged. Specifically, Nintendo Switch players will not be able to view genitalia, and certain audio from a certain dream sequence is staying muted.

While the game still defaults to uncensored on PS5 and PC, players there will still get these new settings as an option, as will the Xbox version, which is set to launch later this summer.

I absolutely loved Dispatch and found this entire situation frustrating for players, so I'm glad there's been some kind of compromise, even if Nintendo Switch users still have to put up with some level of censorship.

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