Nintendo Finally Responds to Dispatch Censorship Backlash

Dispatch finally landed on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 on January 28. However, players are already criticizing Nintendo, as its version is censored compared to other platforms. Select nudity and curse words are censored on both Nintendo platforms. Profanity is replaced with audible bleeps in some scenes.

Nintendo faces backlash over Dispatch censorship, comes forward to clear the air

Players say that the changes weren’t revealed before the game’s launch on Nintendo. Censorship only became apparent once the game went live. AdHoc Studio, made up of former Telltale developers, confirmed the changes, saying “different platforms have different content criteria… the core narrative and gameplay remain unchanged.”

Well, Nintendo has tried to clear the air by issuing a statement to GoNintendo (via VGC). The company says that it “does not make changes to partner content.“ That said, Nintendo also admitted that it requires games to meet platform guidelines and ratings standards. Here’s a statement from Nintendo, just in case you want to read:

Nintendo requires all games on its platforms to receive ratings from independent organizations and to meet our established content and platform guidelines. While we inform partners when their titles don’t meet our guidelines, Nintendo does not make changes to partner content. We also do not discuss specific content or the criteria used in making these determinations.

Dispatch has more of a mature superhero narrative, which makes the censorship more noticeable, especially in dialogue-heavy scenes. Players have questioned why only Dispatch is censored, while other mature titles, such as Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2, are available without similar restrictions in some regions.

For now, the censored version appears to be a compromise, and it’s unclear if changes will be reversed in the future.