AdHoc Apologizes, Explains Censorship in Dispatch on Switch, and Promises Partial Rollback
The release of the hit game Dispatch on both Switch consoles tarnished AdHoc's reputation: Nintendo was quick to distance itself from the crude removal of all the most appealing content, and the developers took the blame.
The developers paused, "because they tried to be good partners for Nintendo," after whose statement they decided to explain themselves to the players.
AdHoc, following the adult but uncensored releases of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077, assumed there would be no issues with the Dispatch port, but they had to adapt to Nintendo's standards. Together with their Japanese colleagues, AdHoc approved the text for a censorship warning in the eShop.
"But we must take full responsibility for the placement of this warning": the studio did not intend to hide anything, they simply overlooked it, resulting in the text ending up in the unfortunate "Warning" section instead of "About the Game." In the American version of the store, the error was corrected a few hours after launch, and a warning was also added before purchase. In other regions, changes were also made or submitted for review shortly after.
Currently, the developers, together with Nintendo, are working on partially easing the censorship, but "considering development time and the console submission process, we are talking about weeks, not days."
However, fans have a question: why adapt to the strictest criteria of the Japanese CERO instead of releasing separate versions for different regions, as was done with PlayStation 5?
To our fans who were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to play the uncensored version on Switch, we offer our sincere apologies. People have the right to be angry. We have learned a lot. Thank you for staying with us. More information will be available soon. AdHoc