AdHoc Studios is “working with Nintendo on a path forward” to address Dispatch censorship

Update, February 4, 2026: AdHoc Studios issued a statement last week regarding the censorship of Dispatch on Switch platforms, citing that the title did not meet Nintendo’s guidelines and it “made changes that would allow [it] to release on their platform.”

“Honestly we thought this would be obvious since we’re the devs that released the fully uncensored version of the game on other platforms,” said AdHoc Studios co-founder, COO, and creative director Nick Herman.

“We initially assumed, like some of you, that because games like Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk are on the platform with similar types of uncensored mature content, Dispatch would be allowed to do the same,” Herman continued.

“During the porting process it became clear that was not the case. So we asked that we include a disclaimer on the store page to inform customers that content would be different than on other platforms. We worked with Nintendo to get storefront language approved.”

He added that AdHoc needed to take “full ownership” of the placement of the disclaimer that the game was censored on the Nintendo eShop, adding that “wires got crossed” during the process.

“It was our intent to go out of our way to tell people looking to buy the game that the content was censored,” he explained.

“While we didn’t have complete control of the language, we did have control of the placement. Wires got crossed and we put the disclaimer in the field literally titled “Disclaimer”, instead of the “About The Game” section. We didn’t catch this until after the launch when we saw people saying we should have called out the changes on the store page, and we went to go make sure it was there. It technically has been the entire time, just in the absolute worst spot that makes it look like we were trying to hide it.”

Herman said AdHoc is “working with Nintendo on a path forward” and is “confident [it will] be able to push an update to address at least some of the censored content.

“To our fans who were looking forward to playing the uncensored version on Switch, we’re truly sorry. People have a right to be pissed. Lots of lessons learned here. Thanks for sticking with us. More soon.”

Original story, January 30, 2026: AdHoc Studios’ title Dispatch has been censored on Nintendo Switch consoles.

Following the game’s launch on Switch and Switch 2 earlier this week, players were met with black bars and censored language during scenes depicting nudity and explicit audio.

On other platforms such as PlayStation 5 and Windows, there is an option to toggle censorship of this content. However, on the Switch port, censorship is on by default and cannot be turned off.

In a statement shared with our sister site Eurogamer, the developer clarified it had “worked with Nintendo to ensure content within the title met the criteria to release on its platform.”

“Different platforms have different content criteria, and submissions are evaluated individually,” it said. “The core narrative and gameplay experience remains identical to the original release.”

Nintendo also commented on the matter (via GoNintendo), clarifying that it “does not make changes to partner content.”

“Nintendo requires all games on its platform to receive ratings from independent organisations and to meet our established content and platform guidelines,” the publisher said.

“While we inform partners when their titles don’t meet our guidelines, Nintendo does not make changes to partner content. We also do not discuss specific content or the criteria used in making these determinations.”

Users on Reddit highlighted that the Japan-only PS5 version of Dispatch, released on the same day as the Switch ports, also has the same censorship.

This suggests there are two versions of the game – a censored and non-censored version – with the latter not being available on Switch consoles.

GamesIndustry.biz has contacted AdHoc to confirm whether this is the case.

VGC noted that AdHoc’s decision to port a censored version to Switch may be the result of adhering to ratings boards, such as Japan’s Computer Entertainment Rating Organisation (CERO).

For example, CD Projekt Red released two versions of its Cyberpunk 2077 Switch 2 port. The version of the game available in Japan is CERO Z-rated with no nudity and excessive gore, including decapitations.