Nintendo responds to backlash over Dispatch censorship on Switch

Nintendo has responded to criticism about censorship in the Switch version of the game Dispatch, clarifying that they didn’t make any alterations to the game’s content.

Okay, so a lot of us were pretty annoyed when Dispatch finally came out on the Switch in January 2026. The biggest issue? It launched with censorship already built in – you couldn’t even turn it off. It felt like they were deciding what we could and couldn’t see from the start, and nobody was happy about it.

The Nintendo Switch version of the game differs from the PC and PlayStation 5 versions by automatically censoring content. This includes adding black bars to cover nudity, replacing swear words with beeps, and removing suggestive sounds from certain parts of the game. Players no longer have the option to control these censorship settings themselves.

Nintendo stated to GoNintendo that while they uphold content ratings and platform rules, they don’t make changes to games created by other companies.

Dispatch Switch censorship issue gets new update

Nintendo says all games played on its systems need to be rated by unbiased groups and follow the company’s content rules.

We let our partners know if their games don’t follow our rules, but Nintendo doesn’t alter their games ourselves. We also don’t share details about specific games or exactly how we make these decisions.

Many players were surprised to learn about the limitations of the Switch version, and some stated they would have picked a different platform if they’d been aware of these issues beforehand.

AdHoc Studio hasn’t responded publicly to requests for refunds, but they did explain the censorship changes in the Switch version in a statement to Eurogamer on January 28th.

AdHoc Studio explained that each gaming platform has its own rules for what content it allows, and every game submission is judged on its own merits. They collaborated with Nintendo to make sure the game met Nintendo’s standards for release, but the story and gameplay are the same as in the original version.

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2026-01-30 19:19