‘Everyone Told Us Not to Do It’: Dispatch Producer Says Episodic Release Was Deemed ‘Insane’

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The team behind Dispatch, AdHoc Studio, understood they were trying something new with their release strategy – releasing the game in episodes – and it ultimately proved successful.

The new superhero series premiered with its first two episodes on October 22nd, and has been releasing two more episodes each week since then. The series will have a total of eight episodes.

Telltale Games used to be known for its story-driven games released in episodes, but that approach eventually became unpopular. When AdHoc was developing Dispatch, they had to consider this negative history.

“People kept advising us against it,” says Michael Choung, the executive producer and CEO, in a conversation with Knowledge.

He calls it a crazy idea, explaining that from a production standpoint, it simply shouldn’t be done. He warns that relying solely on individual episodes to drive success is a risky strategy.

Choung believes Dispatch’s popularity was partially due to its release in episodes, but he doesn’t advise other game developers to do the same. He suggests it only works if the game already has a naturally compelling and engaging story.

The most important part of any successful project is the initial idea. A strong concept can overcome even flawed execution, meaning it’s likely to succeed despite potential missteps, he says.

Releasing a story in parts when it’s not very good is like trying to attract people who aren’t interested in the first place.

Dispatch has earned praise – and deservedly so – for its charming characters and humorous story. It’s well-made and offers plenty to keep viewers engaged.

Honestly, you could binge all eight episodes in a day or two if you really wanted to. But it seems like releasing them over time was a really smart move. The developers told me player numbers actually spiked with each new episode drop – everyone was coming back for more, which is awesome!

Everyone expected our numbers to drop significantly in the second week, typically by about half. But that didn’t happen at all – we actually saw the opposite. We did prepare for changes, but we weren’t ready for how large those changes would be, according to Choung.

We believe a key to our success was being upfront about our release schedule from the beginning. Telltale Games struggled with inconsistent releases, and these delays often killed excitement as they juggled different projects.

With so many games releasing all at once, do you think there’s still a place for games that come out in episodes? When Dispatch was released, did you play it each week as the episodes became available, or did you wait and play through everything all at once? Let us know your thoughts on a potential Season 2 in the comments!

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2025-12-01 23:07