Dispatch (video game)
Dispatch is an episodic adventure game developed and published by the American developer AdHoc Studio. It consists of eight episodes released on PlayStation 5 and Windows throughout October and November 2025. Ports for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 were released in January 2026.
Described as a superhero workplace comedy, Dispatch has the player take the role of Robert Robertson III, formerly the superhero Mecha Man, who has to take a job as a dispatcher for villains-turned-superheroes after his signature mecha suit is destroyed in battle. Its cast includes the voices of Aaron Paul, Jeffrey Wright, Erin Yvette, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, and Matthew Mercer, as well as content creators jacksepticeye, MoistCr1TiKaL, Joel Haver, Alanah Pearce, and rapper Yung Gravy. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics and was widely acclaimed by audiences, selling over 3 million units within two months of its release cycle completion.
Gameplay
Dispatch is an adventure video game, where the player's choices affect the story via the use of dialogue trees in conversations with other characters. A large form of the gameplay consists of navigating a superhero team across the Superhero Dispatch Network map to crimes and events, where the player must strategically decide which hero or heroes best fit the activity based on their stats and character traits, while also managing their cooldowns. In the hacking mini-game, the player must quickly navigate pathways and complete quick time events.Synopsis
Setting
Dispatch is set in an alternate Los Angeles where super-powers—and consequently superheroes and supervillains—are commonplace and thus have divided society between "supers" and "normies". While there are independent superheroes, several of them work for the Superhero Dispatch Network, which provides services and protection for their subscribers.Plot
Superhero Robert Robertson III / Mecha Man attempts to locate his father's killer, the supervillain Elliot Connors / Shroud, but is lured into a trap by Shroud's gang, the Red Ring. Robert narrowly escapes, only to realize a bomb was placed on his mech suit. He survives, but the suit is heavily damaged and put out of commission. After announcing his retirement to the press and failing to stop a robbery on his own, Robert is approached by the superhero Mandy / Blonde Blazer, who proposes he works at the Torrance branch of the Superhero Dispatch Network as a dispatcher in exchange for help repairing his suit. Having heavily indebted himself trying to maintain it, Robert accepts.On his first day, he encounters his old friend Chase / Track Star, a retired speedster hero who, due to a side effect of his powers, appears 80-years-old at 39. Robert is then assigned to the Z-Team, a group of supervillains that SDN is working to reform via their Phoenix Program. However, its members do not take him seriously. He later gets into an argument with one of the Z-Team's members, Courtney / Invisigal, after she disobeys a direct order and allows a supervillain to escape. Blazer tasks Robert with cutting one of the Z-Team's members, Sonar or Coupé, to "send a message" and replace them with either SDN janitor Waterboy or Phenomaman, a former top hero and Blazer's ex-boyfriend. Sometime later, Robert grows closer to either Blazer or Invisigal and builds a rapport with the Z-Team.
Meanwhile, Robert rebuilds the Mecha Man suit with help from SDN technical specialist Royd, but fails to replicate its missing power source, the Astral Pulse. Invisigal and Royd eventually locate it, but she and Blazer disagree over how to retrieve it. Chase berates Invisigal for her criminal past, causing her to leave in an attempt to retrieve the Astral Pulse alone. With Robert's assistance, she evades the Red Ring and reaches the Astral Pulse, but is intercepted by Shroud, who seemingly steals it and incapacitates her. Chase uses his speed to rescue her before collapsing.
With Chase hospitalized, the majority of the Z-Team votes to cut Invisigal. She later admits to Robert that she was the one who planted the bomb, having previously worked for Shroud and the Red Ring before joining the Phoenix Program. Robert is later captured by Shroud and the cut Z-Team member. Shroud reveals Invisigal hid the Astral Pulse from both of them and tortures Robert in a failed attempt at locating it. Blazer rescues Robert, but the Red Ring launches an assault on Los Angeles.
As the Z-Team and SDN fight back, Shroud leads a Red Ring detachment in attacking SDN's Torrance call center. Royd captures Invisigal and retrieves the Astral Pulse, allowing Robert to join the fight as Mecha Man while Blazer gives her amulet, the source of her powers, to Chase to revive him and help them further. Robert, Chase, Blazer, and the Z-Team defeat the Red Ring, but Shroud takes Robert's dog Beef hostage, forcing Robert to surrender.
If the player decided to trust Invisigal throughout the series despite her actions, she will take a bullet for Robert, who beats Shroud into submission before either killing or sparing him. Invisigal is subsequently welcomed back into the Z-Team. If Robert killed Shroud, he is suspended pending an investigation, though Blazer and Chase do not hold it against him. If the player did not trust Invisigal however, she will kill Shroud, take his mask, and abandon Robert and the Z-Team.
Regardless of the choices made, the Red Ring is defeated and arrested, the cut Z-Team member is either forgiven or sent to prison, and the Z-Team is hailed as heroes while the Torrance branch undergoes repairs.
Cast and characters
Main
- Aaron Paul as Robert Robertson III / Mecha Man – A third-generation superhero who lacks powers but possesses a mechanical suit with various weaponry originally built by his grandfather. After the destruction of his suit and being forced into retirement, he secures a job at SDN as a dispatcher to earn finances to repair it. Rahul Kohli was originally in consideration for the role by the studio.
- * Billy Cristos Jr. as Young Robert
- Laura Bailey as Courtney / Invisigal – An asthmatic, rebellious former villain formerly known as Invisibitch and the lowest-ranking member of the Z-Team who can turn invisible while holding her breath.
- Erin Yvette as Mandy / Blonde Blazer – A corporate superhero for hire, the manager of SDN's Los Angeles division, and Phenomaman's ex-girlfriend who wears an amulet that grants her the power of flight, super-strength, energy blasts, and a resistance to toxins. Without it, she loses her superhuman physique and becomes a brunette.
- Fahim Anwar as Chad / Flambae – An Afghan former supervillain turned hero, former nemesis of Mecha Man, and member of the Z-Team who possesses pyrokinesis and flameproof skin.
- MoistCr1TiKaL as Victor / Sonar – A highly intelligent man/bat hybrid, Harvard graduate, recovering cocaine addict, and member of the Z-Team who can transform into a large monstrous bat.
- Alanah Pearce as Malevola Gibb – A broadsword wielding half-demoness, Sonar's Narcotics Anonymous sponsor, and member of the Z-Team who can create portals.
- jacksepticeye as Colm / Punch Up – An Irish former carnival strongman, Coupé's ex-boyfriend, and member of the Z-Team who acquired the strength of ten men and an immunity to pain from a sorceress in exchange for half of his height.
- Thot Squad as Alice / Prism – A pop star influencer and member of the Z-Team who possesses photokinesis, the ability to control and manipulate light.
- Mayanna Berrin as Janelle / Coupé – A former assassin and ballerina, Punch Up's ex-girlfriend, and member of the Z-Team who can fly and possesses umbrakinesis, the ability to generate and manipulate shadows, and an assortment of daggers.
- Yung Gravy as Bruno / Golem – A magical construct made of dirt and clay and member of the Z-Team.
- Travis Willingham as Katon-Ur / Phenomaman – A once highly-regarded hero-for-hire from a distant planet, public face for SDN, Blonde Blazer's ex-boyfriend, and member of the Z-Team who can fly, possesses super-strength, and suffers from bouts of depression.
- Joel Haver as Herman "Herm" / Waterboy – An insecure SDN janitor who can produce water from his mouth and body.
- Tanoai Reed as Roy / Royd – A muscular member of the Phoenix Program who was arrested by Robert's father, became a mechanic for SDN, and helps repair Robert's Mecha Man suit.
- Matthew Mercer as Elliot Connors / Shroud – A former member of the Brave Brigade who became a supervillain and leader of the Red Ring who killed Robert's father and possesses a mask that grants predictive abilities and various cybernetic augmentations.
- Jeffrey Wright as Chase / Track Star / Starblazer – A speedster, former member of the Brave Brigade, old friend of Robert's father, and Robert's dispatching mentor who recommends him for the job. Due to his powers causing him to age 50 times faster than normal while in use, leading him to appear 80-years-old at 39, he is forced to retire and work at SDN as part of their hero records database and a dispatcher.
- * Elijah Wright as Young Chase
Recurring
- Nimesh Patel as Galen – An experienced SDN dispatcher who possesses super hearing.
- Jared Goldstein as Toxic – A high-ranking member of the Red Ring who possesses the power of acidity, flight, and self-healing.
- Liam O'Brien as Kellen Sebastian / Lightningstruck – A minor villain and member of the Red Ring with electroshock blasters.
- Frankie Quiñones as Armstrong – A high-ranking member of the Red Ring who possesses a cybernetic second pair of arms.
- Ashley Johnson as Ashley Rhiness – A reporter for San Pedro Daily who often reports on SDN.
Episodes
Dispatch is separated into eight episodes.Development
After their time with Telltale Games, then Ubisoft and Night School Studio, AdHoc Studio was formed in 2018 by Michael Choung, Nick Herman, Dennis Lenart, and Pierre Shorette. All four begun development on their first project, Dispatch. It was initially envisioned to be live-action, inspired by This Is SportsCenter commercials from ESPN, and planned to start production in March 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, development was shut down.Around this time, the new incarnation of Telltale approached AdHoc to co-develop a sequel to The Wolf Among Us. Following the cancellation under the original Telltale, The Wolf Among Us 2 was announced in development in 2019. However, both parties ran into creative differences; AdHoc in particular were frustrated of being treated like "work for hire" and lacking creative control over the project. Without direction from Telltale, AdHoc left and worked on a game idea for a few months before scrapping it and returned back to Dispatch. This time, they repurposed the project as animated instead of live-action, and shopped said project to multiple game studios until they land a deal with an unnamed publisher for a year until they left mid-way development.
Seeking more funding, AdHoc announced a worldwide reveal of Dispatch with a trailer on December 12, 2024, during the Game Awards, alongside its ensemble cast consisting of Aaron Paul, Jeffrey Wright, Laura Bailey, Erin Yvette, Travis Willingham, Matthew Mercer, Seán McLoughlin, Charlie White, Alanah Pearce, Joel Haver, Lance Cantstopolis, Thot Squad, and Yung Gravy.
AdHoc released a demo on May 29, 2025, to overwhelmingly positive Steam reviews and was featured in the 2025 Tribeca Festival. AdHoc, now staffed with 30 employees, were under threat of closure due to lack of funding, and its founders avoided getting paychecks for six months straight to pay off their staff. By July 21, 2025, Critical Role Productions announced a partnership with AdHoc, namely to co-develop a game set in the Critical Role universe, and to finance the final stages of development for Dispatch.
On September 16, 2025, it was announced Dispatch would be released in weekly intervals beginning on October 22 and ending on November 12, 2025. A deluxe edition was also announced that would come with a digital artbook and four digital comics in addition to the main game. Versions for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 were announced in December 2025 for release on January 28, 2026. The Switch release comes with all eight episodes available from the beginning and runs at 720p resolution at 30 frames-per-second on the console. A 'Nintendo Switch 2 Edition' is available as a free upgrade from the former console, and features an enhanced presentation at 1440p resolution and 60FPS. The Switch ports were censored due to Nintendo's policies. Following backlash, AdHoc issued a statement that they were “working with Nintendo on a path forward,” with plans for an update to restore at least some of the censored content.
Reception
Critical reception
Dispatch received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator website Metacritic. OpenCritic reported that 96% of critics recommended it.Game Informer Ben Reeves praised the narrative and choices. Gamekult Kelmazad enjoyed the art, gameplay, writing, and cast, but noted the jokes were becoming tired. GameSpot Jordan Ramée enjoyed the writing, visuals, acting, and challenge, but noted a lack of narrative consequence. IGN Sarah Thwaites praised the writing and cast, but felt a lack of thrill with the hacking mini-games. PC Gamer Fraser Brown lauded the characters and writing, but wished for more interactivity. Push Square Robert Ramsey enjoyed the writing, characters, choices, and soundtrack, but felt the quick time events were lacking. VideoGamer.com Mars Evergreen praised the cast, story, and choices; only noting small, occasional issues with the sound design. Nintendo Life Jim Norman reviewed the Nintendo Switch 2 port; praising the writing, acting, and animation, but described the gameplay as lacking and found the port's censorship strange.
Sales
Dispatch sold over one million units within the first ten days of release and two million units within the first month. According to AdHoc Studio, it was on course to beat their three-year sales target in just three months. It has sold over three million copies.Accolades
Future
In July 2025, Critical Role Productions announced a partnership with AdHoc Studio for Dispatch merchandise, tabletop gaming, and an animated series.In November 2025, AdHoc Studio co-founders Nick Herman and Pierre Shorette mentioned that they were considering a potential second season of Dispatch following the sales and reception of the game. Aaron Paul expressed enthusiasm to do more seasons of Dispatch while speaking to co-star Charles White.