Nintendo Switch Developer in Censorship Snafu ‘Legally Unable’ to Explain Why It Couldn’t Release a Separate Uncut Version, Like Cyberpunk 2077

The developer behind Dispatch — the superhero game that’s censored on Nintendo Switch — has said it is “legally unable” to explain why it can’t launch an unedited version of its game in specific regions — as CD Projekt Red did with Cyberpunk 2077.

Dispatch maker AdHoc Studio previously referenced Cyberpunk 2077 by name when discussing the development of Dispatch’s Switch edition, and said it had “initially assumed” its game would also be able to feature similarly “uncensored mature content.” Instead, AdHoc continued, “during the porting process it became clear that was not the case.”

“This is the key point,” AdHoc added. “Nintendo has content guidelines. Our game didn’t meet those guidelines, so we made changes that would allow us to release on their platform. That’s what happened here. Honestly we thought this would be obvious since we’re the devs that released the fully uncensored version of the game on other platforms.”

While AdHoc has stated that this explanation was obvious, it has not been able to explain why Cyberpunk 2077 released unedited in most countries around the world, while Dispatch did not. Indeed, many fans have called for Dispatch to get the same treatment, with a censored version released in Japan, where the country’s strict rating board has been blamed for not allowing the game to launch unedited.

Now, AdHoc has responded on this point too — if only to say it is prohibited from explaining the situation in more detail.

“AdHoc is legally unable to provide further comment on why separate SKUs were not possible for different regions,” the company said in a statement to GoNintendo, adding that there was “no possibility” for an uncensored physical edition either, and that it had no physical edition plans to announce.

Last week, fans were shocked to discover that hit superhero game Dispatch had been censored on Nintendo Switch — where enormous black boxes cover nudity and even a character raising their middle finger. While an option to hide these already existed on other platforms, on Switch it is enforced by default, and cannot be toggled off.

Yesterday, AdHoc apologized to fans and said it that its own disclaimer on the changes should have been more visible, and said fans had a right to be “pissed.”

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social