As we mentioned before, game, Dispatch, has been beset by its narrative-powered past, and subsequently, all the discussion about the game came down to its major themes and sales. AdHoc Studio made the first significant move with a 10% discount that would apply to all platforms, and it also publicly created conversations via their festive shout-out.
AdHoc Studio’s 10% discount was the major talking point, to begin with. The game Dispatch can be described as an interactive narrative, performed by a player who portrays a 911 operator. Having Aaron Paul in the voice cast certainly takes the gaming experience to another level. The game has been in stores for quite a while, and getting it at a cadet price is a nice gesture. The tweet even included the platforms where the game can be found: Steam, PS5, Switch.
Then you keep scrolling. The first thing you will see in the comments? Ho oh! You have just found out that there is a gaming platform debate going on right there, the comments section is nothing less than a masterclass in platform tribalism.
The first replies did not reference the discount at all, instead they were about what was not there. User SCOMO could not help being sarcastic saying, “Thank you for excluding Xbox.” PeterDarkerYeezus sent wrong emojis: “What about Xbox😔😔.” And even more users jumped on the train. Blake brown was already dreaming of an Xbox, Epic Games Store, and GOG port. Tom Legg said he will “gladly buy it when you port it to Xbox.” Valyeria™️️ mentioned Xbox directly: “XBOX please 😭😭😭😭 @Xbox we need it.”
This is like a whole mood. A large part of the conversation turned instantly from “hey, a sale!” to “hey, where’s our version?” Which, though, you have to empathize with the Xbox players. Watching a game go on sale everywhere except your preferred console must be quite harsh.
Then there was a debate that ensued. Naturally, it did happen. One user, dillian, answered to a questioning Xbox user with an unkind, yet honest, remark: “Yall don’t buy games and they are not putting on GamePass, so why waste their time on a port right now lol? They went to where the money is.” That was indeed a spicy meatball. Another user, A Good Shepherd, also emphasized this point by showing a meme to reply to another user asking for “games.”
That was basically a trigger for a little back-and-forth dispute. Some were taking a defensive position while others were going on the counter-offensive. At one point it became quite a chaos with users like TheKrueger1428, Claptrap272, and ASharie06 going back and forth about… honestly, it was hard to follow. Something about age and reading comprehension? The internet, man. It’s a wild place.
But hey! not every comment was about platform war! some users were really excited. regular__stormy said that they were waiting for PS5 discount and just bought it. SonPhamThai2911 exclaimed proudly that they had already “bought two, here to support.” MrAsgorath was just screaming in all caps that they are very happy they bought Steam money. And christosmtl called it a “fun little game!”
There were also the classic sales reaction tweets. HAVI117 with the universal gamer lament: “fuck I bought it last week….” And ChochoP0P throwing a little shade at the discount size itself: “10% shouldn’t be allowed as a sale lol, 20% should be the minimum.” aveavex82 joked, “10%? Is Aaron Paul this expensive? 😭”
And then there was PatriotMeow asking the real questions: “Where is Cut content Romance DLC :C”
So what’s the takeaway from all this? AdHoc Studio’s Dispatch is on sale. If you’re a PC, PS5 or Switch owner and you’re into narrative-driven, choice-based games with some star power behind the mic, now’s a decent time to check it out. The 10% discount isn’t huge, but it’s something.
However, the more significant story, the one that always seems to pop up, is the issue of platform exclusivity or, in this case, omission. The reaction from the Xbox community was immediate and very loud. It shows the real tension in the industry currently. For smaller studios, porting games is a costly and time-consuming process. They have to go where they think the audience—and the sales—are. But for players who are committed to one ecosystem, it feels like a snub.
