Single-player narrative games are becoming increasingly rare in an industry dominated by live-service projects. Yet some titles keep proving that demand for deep, story-driven adventures hasn’t vanished. One standout example is Dispatch, developed by AdHoc Studio.
AdHoc Studio’s journey to launch Dispatch-a branching narrative game centered on player choices-was far from easy. The studio was founded by four former Telltale Games veterans determined to continue crafting the intricate, story-rich games that had earned Telltale a dedicated fanbase. But Telltale’s 2018 collapse left few pathways for similar games to thrive commercially.
In the wake of Telltale’s bankruptcy, publishers were reluctant to back single-player narrative games, which many viewed as too niche or even a ”dead” genre. Despite this, AdHoc took the risk to self-develop and self-publish Dispatch, finally releasing it in 2025.
Speaking at the Game Developers Conference, AdHoc’s co-creative director Dennis Lenart shared with GamesRadar+ the hurdles they faced. Founded by two writers and two directors, the studio struggled to attract investor confidence for a story-focused title in a market obsessed with multiplayer and service models.
Lenart recalled, ”Potential backers often pointed to statistics suggesting there haven’t been enough hits in this genre recently to justify investment. The consensus was that story games are either too marginal or effectively dead.” Yet AdHoc believed otherwise.
Co-creative director Nick Herman added the decision to press on was ”a mix of confidence and stubbornness.” He said, ”We felt we were among the most experienced teams in crafting these narratives, and if we didn’t champion this genre, no one would.”
Early on, Dispatch had a publisher lined up, but that partnership dissolved mid-development. The studio later secured support from Critical Role, a popular streaming studio, enabling them to move forward with self-publishing.
Instead of chasing trends like sprawling open-world action RPGs, the team doubled down on their strengths-a tightly woven narrative experience without compromise. Lenart explained their goal was to ”make a quality game that stands on its own merits.”
Starting their own studio also changed their perspective. ”Before, we were just developers. Now we had to think about the financial side, about making a game that succeeds critically and commercially to secure the studio’s future and our livelihoods,” Lenart said.
That gamble paid off. Dispatch was met with critical acclaim and quickly gained popularity. By the end of 2025, it had sold over three million copies.
While story-driven games struggle for attention amid service-heavy giants like Fortnite and Genshin Impact, Dispatch’s success shows there’s still appetite for narrative-driven single-player titles-if studios are willing to take the risk. As the industry continues to emphasize online multiplayer ecosystems, it will be worth watching whether more developers follow AdHoc’s lead or if narrative games remain a niche refuge.