Clair Obscur praises Dispatch at the Golden Joysticks and AdHoc Studios reacts

A AdHoc Studios received a wave of recognition from the industry, culminating in a special mention from Guillaume Broche, CEO of Sandfall Interactive, during the Golden Joystick Awards 2025. Upon receiving the award for Best Narrative for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Broche made a point to praise the narrative adventure Dispatch: "Play Dispatch, it's really, really cool and has a very good story." The gesture was seen as a touching reminder of mutual respect in the industry, despite the competition among titles.

Dispatch, created by AdHoc, a studio emerging from the ashes of Telltale Games, has become one of the biggest highlights of the year, earning a nomination for best debut indie game at The Game Awards 2025. The response surprised creative director Dennis Lenart and narrative designer Polly Raguimov.

Lenart commented on the surprise of the nominations: "It's always nice [to be nominated for an award]. We were just trying to finish the game. And then, as soon as the ending was released, there were a few days of detoxing and bug fixing, and just trying to slowly come out of the years of tunnel vision. So, hearing things like that, it's kind of out of nowhere. You think, 'wait, what? Oh, wow, crazy'."

Raguimov expressed deep satisfaction with Broche's recognition: "This means a lot, [I'm] super happy for them. Taking time out of your own speech to showcase another game, that's huge, especially in that category. What he [Broche] said about the Dispatch story sounded very, very cool."

The narrative designer admitted to being impressed by the opening of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: "I've never had a game make me cry so quickly before. That was impressive." Lenart added: "Honestly, just amazing stuff."

Lenart attributes the mutual support to a sense of camaraderie among developers who value narrative: "It's like living in a town and, like, if you skate and you meet another person who skates and you instantly become friends... I feel like it's a similar thing in the games industry with people who appreciate narrative, where you hope the other does well." The success of Dispatch, with the player count growth and theories about the cast of the Z-Team and Robert Robertson III, validates AdHoc's bet on an episodic format and engaging narrative.