The developer behind Dispatch — the superhero game that’s censored on Nintendo Switch — has said it is “legally unable” to explain why it is unable to 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 tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Amazon has produced yet another brilliant Pokémon TCG deal ready for the weekend, and it’s once again on the latest Mega Evolution set, Phantasmal Flames.

While celebrating the launch of Ascended Heroes (albeit being a staggered release), it’s a mighty bit of fresh air to finally get some reasonable prices on boosters for the popular Mega Charizard X sporting set from last year.

Valentine’s Day is just a couple of weeks away, and if you’re looking for a fun gift idea that you can experience with your favorite person, a co-op game is always a great pick. Split Fiction is one worth considering – we called it an “expertly crafted co-op adventure” in our review, after all – but what’s even better is the PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 versions are currently on sale for $37.49 at Walmart. This deal saves you just over $10 compared to their list price.

Save on Split Fiction (PS5 and Switch 2)

Veteran role-playing game maker Obsidian Entertainment has no plans to continue The Outer Worlds with a third game, the studio has confirmed.

As part of a Bloomberg interview, Obsidian revealed that last year’s The Outer Worlds 2 had underperformed, and a sequel is not in development. Avowed, the company’s other blockbuster RPG released last year, also missed its targets — but Obsidian reportedly still has plans for more from its world of Eora, the same setting as Pillars of Eternity.

On a more positive note, Grounded 2 — yet another 2025 launch — was a hit. But of the three, it had the shortest (and almost certainly the cheapest) development period by far. Grounded 2 took just over two years to meet its early access launch, compared to the more than six years required for both Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2.

In 2025, Xbox trumpeted the fact that Obsidian was about to launch three games in just eight months, with Avowed hitting in February, Grounded 2 launching in early access in July, and The Outer Worlds 2 arriving in October. But the effort was “the result of things going wrong,” studio design director Josh Sawyer has now said — and something that is unlikely to be repeated.

“Spacing those releases helps the company manage its resources and not burn everybody out,” Sawyer told Bloomberg. “It’s not good to release three games in the same year. It’s the result of things going wrong.”

Famously, Avowed began life as a multiplayer game with ambitions to be a cross between The Elder Scrolls and Destiny, before its online co-op was stripped out and the project was rebooted. It then took a while to steady the ship, though the arrival of Carrie Patel as its director saw the game on a smoother path — albeit some three years into the project.

As for The Outer Worlds 2’s prolonged development, Bloomberg’s report simply states that the project was made more difficult by the pandemic and technical challenges. Now, Obsidian’s focus is reportedly fixed on ensuring games can be made on shorter development timelines, with releases more spaced out, and with as generous a profit margin from Microsoft as they can get away withmuster.

“I don’t think anybody really likes five-, six-, seven-year dev cycles,” noted Brandon Adler, who served as director on The Outer Worlds 2. “We’ve kind of grown into that.”

Referencing Microsoft’s eye-opening 30% profit-margin target for some Xbox studios, Obsidian boss Feargus Urquhart said he hoped the company still continued to fund riskier projects and accepted that “maybe where we are going to be from a profitability standpoint isn’t going to be 30%.”

Obsidian is yet to announce its next project, following 2025’s exhaustive release schedule. Work on Grounded 2 continues, of course, and it sounds like Eora will be returned to. (Avowed will also launch for PlayStation 5 later this month.) As for what else might be in the pipeline, time will tell.

“I know everyone on the internet, on every game we ever announce, will constantly reference back to, ‘When’s the next New Vegas?'” Obsidian’s VP of operations Marcus Morgan said last year, referencing the studio’s beloved Fallout game that’s served as the inspiration for the hit Amazon TV series’ second season setting. Well, it’s a good question.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social