It's quite clear from Dispatch's reception and its sales figures that people yearn for short, storytelling-driven experiences in their games. It doesn't necessarily matter if the gameplay isn't as engaging as other modern hits, as the story gives its own worth to players, and allows them to experience and develop their own canon.
Speaking with Gamesindustry.biz, Dispatch's developers shared that when starting out work on the game, it was hard to convince some publishers and big companies of its success. "They're saying, well, this game tanked," said creative director Nick Herman. "And it's like, yeah, but we look at that game and we think: 'the creative was bad'. You wouldn't point to a bad movie and go: 'Movies are dead. There's no way we're ever making a movie again, because this movie failed.' But that's kind of how people approach our genre."
Of course, AdHoc was vindicated in the end, as Dispatch has proven to be one of the great success stories of the year so far. Eventually, AdHoc did find its partner in Critical Role, who helped bring Dispatch to life. "Ultimately, with CritRole, they were a perfect partner in that they share the same value as we do," Herman said. "And they started their company in a similar way, where it's just a group of creators coming together and being passionate about telling interactive stories and sharing that with people. And so they immediately saw and believed in what we were doing and took a chance. Honestly, that was crucial to getting this whole thing done."