Romance in videogames is a controversial topic. We here at PC Gamer are divided on it ourselves, with some arguing that developers like Obsidian are right to downplay romance, while others praise Baldur’s Gate 3 for its horniness. I’m in favor of more kissing and less killing in general, and its inclusion was one of many things I enjoyed about Adhoc Studio’s superhero workplace comedy Dispatch.
But while Dispatch doesn’t shy away from nudity, it doesn’t go as far as it could have. “We definitely cut some sex scenes. Which, in retrospect, we shouldn’t have,” Dispatch writer Pierre Shorette recently told Inverse. “Maybe folks will get to see those one day.”
That wasn’t the only thing they had to cut, with Shorette adding, “There isn’t anyone on the development team that wouldn’t have a laundry list of stuff they wish they could polish more or gotten into the game.”
Interest in Dispatch has been high, and it sold more than a million copies in its first 10 days. It plays particularly well in short-form video, and being episodic—but with only a week between releases—has helped it stay part of the conversation. That level of success was a surprise to Adhoc. “I don’t know that I anticipated it to be as ravenous as it’s been. It’s probably why we didn’t plan for more romance options, because we didn’t know it was going to be such a meaningful part of the experience for folks,” Shorette said.
