When the superhero adventure game Dispatch made its way to the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 in January, gamers noticed that the game was censored as black bars covered up partially nude bodies and obscene gestures. Developed AdHoc Studio said it was working with Nintendo to resolve these issues, and it looks like a new update will bring back all the censored content if players want it.
The HR Violations Pack for Dispatch went live Wednesday and with it a visual filters setting to change the censorship in the game. Players can now decide if they want to remove the black bars from the Switch 2 version or add them to versions on other platforms, but depending on the region, their choices can be limited.
For Switch players in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, they will have access to full or partial coverage of characters’ bodies, while players in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and Southeast Asia will have full coverage only. There are different options for coverage from the standard blackout bars, a mosaic effect or what the developer calls a Chaotic style that will offer more creativity with the censorship, such as one character’s naked private parts being covered up by a pair of jean shorts. Only the Japan region limits censorship in the game to blackout bars.
An example of the mosaic effect to cover up an obscene gesture.
“We’ve confirmed that Switch players can now see all the breasts, butts and birds (AKA, obscene gestures) they want in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand,” Nick Herman, co-founder of AdHoc Studio, said in a Discord message on Wednesday.
The studio didn’t provide much of an explanation in January as to why the game was so heavily censored, but Herman cleared things up in his message on Discord, saying that when nearing the launch day of the game on Switch 2, the team learned that the game would need some censoring for certain regions. Without time to make all the changes needed for the different regions, AdHoc Studios decided to have all versions use the most restrictive settings, which appear to be for Japan, according to the previously mentioned region options.
Dispatch is AdHoc Studios’ debut game, and it received praise for its story and characters, voiced by Aaron Paul and Jeffrey Wright. Last year, it was named one of CNET’s Favorite Games of 2025.
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Frequently Asked Questions
An update that went live Wednesday, adding a visual filters setting to change censorship in the game. Players can remove the black bars from the Switch 2 version or add them to versions on other platforms.
Nearing launch day, the team learned the game would need censoring for certain regions. Without time to make region-specific changes, AdHoc applied the most restrictive settings, apparently Japan's, to all versions.
No. North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand get full or partial coverage options, while Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and Southeast Asia get full coverage only. Only Japan is limited to blackout bars; others get mosaic or Chaotic style options.
AdHoc Studio's debut game, praised for its story and characters voiced by Aaron Paul and Jeffrey Wright, and named one of CNET's Favorite Games of 2025.
