Landing Aaron Paul for your indie game debut sounds like a fantasy. For AdHoc Studio, a team of ex-Telltale developers working on Dispatch, getting the Breaking Bad star was the easy part. Keeping him after he realized what he’d actually signed up for? That was terrifying.
In a candid interview with Eurogamer, game director Nick Herman and creative director Pierre Shorette admitted they may have undersold exactly how demanding the role would be. “If he had known what it would entail, I believe he wouldn’t have participated,” Herman confessed. Shorette agreed immediately: “He definitely would have said no.”
The Reality of Branching Dialogue
Aaron Paul’s confusion started immediately. The actor, accustomed to linear scripts for Breaking Bad and BoJack Horseman, suddenly found himself recording contradictory lines back-to-back without context. One moment his character Robert Robertson would be triumphant, the next defeated, with no explanation for why both scenarios existed.
“It was honestly a very confusing process for me, as a performer,” Paul admitted in a Game Informer interview. “But a challenging and rewarding one, as well.” The branching narrative structure of Dispatch meant Paul had to record multiple versions of every scene to account for player choices. Simple conversations between two characters expanded exponentially when factoring in all possible player responses and story permutations.
The workload was staggering. Unlike television where an actor records scenes once with their co-stars present, Paul spent hours alone in a recording booth with other characters’ lines playing in his ears. He couldn’t feed off another performer’s energy or adjust his delivery based on their reactions. Every line required multiple takes covering different emotional tones and outcomes, with Paul often uncertain which version would actually appear in the final game.
Richard Armitage, who voiced Wheatley in Portal 2, described a similar experience years earlier. “There was considerable debate because I had lines such as, ‘We’ve triumphed! We’ve truly bested you!’ followed immediately by, ‘So you have defeated me.’ I thought there must be an error… but someone said, ‘It’s a video game, Richard. Sometimes you come out on top, and other times, the creature bests you. We need both scenarios.'” That perspective hadn’t crossed his mind either.
From Dream List to Delivered Performance
Herman never expected Paul would actually say yes. “I mean, we never thought Aaron Paul would do this,” he explained. “You know, you put together the dream list, and he was at the top.” But casting director Linda Lamontagne had a hunch. She believed Paul would connect with Dispatch’s script, which balanced superhero comedy with genuine emotional depth.
She was right. Paul read sample scenes, looked at the art style, and immediately understood what AdHoc was building. The actor has deep roots in gaming, growing up with classics like Halo and Resident Evil. When presented with a project that merged his love of gaming with the kind of character-driven storytelling he gravitates toward, Paul couldn’t resist.
“Playing any sort of game or watching any sort of really good television or film, it has to start on the page,” Paul told Game Informer. “And the scripts were just so well written. The funny elements were so funny, but also the dramatic elements were really, really heart-wrenching, you know, and it really made you think. And that’s what I really responded to, just the tone of it.”
Paul plays Robert Robertson III, formerly the superhero Mecha Man, whose signature suit gets destroyed in battle. Stripped of his powers and legacy, Robert takes a job as a dispatcher for the Superhero Dispatch Network, coordinating a team of reformed supervillains attempting to become heroes. The role gave Paul room to explore themes of failure, redemption, and finding purpose after losing everything that defined you.
Director Dennis Lenart noted that Paul’s performance fundamentally changed Dispatch’s tone. “You could say that the whole experience could be read as a little more lighthearted if you saw it before Aaron was involved, and then once he read as Robert and we started putting the voice lines into the game, you basically felt a lot more weight of Robert’s backstory, and the stakes kind of went up.” Paul’s natural gravitas and emotional depth transformed what could have been pure comedy into something far more resonant.
The Development Nightmare
While Paul struggled with the recording process, AdHoc faced their own existential challenges. The studio was born from Telltale’s collapse, founded by veterans who believed in narrative adventure games even as publishers insisted the genre was dead. “They were saying, ‘This is foolish, don’t pursue it,'” Herman recalled. “‘You’re crafting a game in a dying genre.'”
AdHoc originally pitched Dispatch as an interactive live-action series similar to Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch. That proved impossibly expensive for a small studio. They pivoted to animation but still faced skepticism from every direction. Publishers passed. Investors weren’t interested. One publisher even dropped the project halfway through development, nearly killing the studio.
“At that time, we were engaged in contract work,” Shorette explained. AdHoc took on projects like Telltale’s Among Us sequel to keep the lights on. “If it weren’t for that contract work covering our expenses to keep development going, we would have ceased operations three years ago.”
The team redesigned Dispatch multiple times. The original concept featured one hero and focused on puzzle-solving through security camera feeds. A prototype had players controlling events in locations like a doughnut shop and enemy bases. “We slowly realized that producing just three of these in the entire game was too expensive,” Herman said, “prompting us to pivot to a more manageable format.”
The “dispatching” mechanic emerged from desperation during a design meeting in a Reno hotel room. Rather than controlling heroes directly, players would coordinate teams from a central hub, managing a city map where events unfolded. This system allowed for gameplay without constant cinematics, reduced animation costs, and created natural breaks between story beats. It also meant expanding from one hero to an entire team, requiring more characters, more voice actors, and more branching dialogue.
The Episodic Gamble That Paid Off
AdHoc made another risky decision: releasing Dispatch episodically across October and November 2025. Eight episodes dropped weekly, mimicking television structure rather than traditional game releases. Executive producer Michael Choung called it “insane to do” and admitted “from every metric, from a production perspective, no one should do this.”
Lead producer Natalie Herman agreed: “From a production perspective, we released four times. We were basically a live-service game for a month.” The team faced constant crunch, fixing bugs and responding to player feedback while simultaneously preparing the next episode. One wrong move could have tanked momentum or exposed critical flaws.
The gamble worked spectacularly. Dispatch became a viral sensation, particularly among streamers and content creators. The weekly release structure kept audiences engaged across multiple weeks rather than burning through everything in one sitting. Players theorized about choices, debated outcomes, and built community around shared experiences. By late November, Dispatch reached 2 million players, making it one of 2025’s surprise indie hits.
Choung credited the game’s strong creative foundation rather than the episodic structure alone. “If the creative is strong, you can cut it up however you like, and it probably is going to make it through, even if it’s a poor decision.” Had AdHoc released Dispatch all at once, Choung believes “it probably would have done okay. But it probably wouldn’t have been as big as this.”
Aaron Paul’s Unexpected Fame
The success caught Paul off guard. He’s accustomed to recognition from Breaking Bad, usually people yelling “bitch” at him from across the street. But Dispatch brought different attention. “People were reaching out to him while the game was being released episodically, saying, ‘Hey, I love you in Dispatch,'” Shorette recounted. “He was surprised to see that it had reached France and gained popularity.”
Paul hasn’t played the full game yet, though he experienced the public demo and saw himself embodying Robert Robertson. The actor admitted he doesn’t remember much about specific recording sessions. “It’s one of those things, like, out of sight, out of mind, you know? You lay it out in the sound booth, and you kind of just try to forget about it. And then sometimes you’re just kind of pleasantly surprised when one of those ‘a ha’ moments kind of springs up on you.”
Despite the confusion and exhaustion, Paul clearly connected with the project. He praised the cast, including Laura Bailey, Matthew Mercer, Travis Willingham, and Jeffrey Wright, calling them “absolutely incredible.” He emphasized Dispatch’s emotional storytelling: “You gradually become familiar with these characters. You learn about their histories and the origins of their traumas. Some may find a deeper connection to it than others, but it will certainly have an impact.”
What This Means for Gaming
Dispatch’s success validates several important lessons. First, narrative adventure games aren’t dead despite what publishers believed. Players still crave character-driven stories with meaningful choices when executed well. Telltale’s collapse stemmed from poor business decisions and development practices, not fundamental flaws with the genre.
Second, celebrity casting can work for indie games if the material justifies it. Paul didn’t sign on because AdHoc threw money at him. He joined because the script was exceptional and the character resonated. Quality writing attracts quality talent regardless of budget.
Third, episodic releases can thrive in the right context. While most games benefit from complete launches, story-driven experiences with natural break points can leverage weekly structures to build sustained engagement. The model works when content quality remains consistent and technical execution doesn’t falter.
AdHoc proved that ex-Telltale developers could capture lightning in a bottle again without repeating past mistakes. They own Dispatch completely, control their own publishing, and maintained a sustainable development pace. The studio’s survival through contract work and scrappy problem-solving demonstrates that persistence pays off when creative vision stays strong.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who voices the main character in Dispatch?
Aaron Paul, best known for playing Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad and Todd Chavez in BoJack Horseman, voices protagonist Robert Robertson III (Mecha Man). This marks Paul’s first major video game voice acting role.
Why did Aaron Paul find recording Dispatch confusing?
Paul struggled with the branching narrative structure requiring him to record contradictory lines back-to-back without context. He recorded alone in a booth rather than with co-stars, making performances more challenging. The non-linear nature of interactive storytelling confused him initially.
Did the developers regret casting Aaron Paul?
No, but they worried he wouldn’t work with them again after realizing how demanding the role was. Directors Nick Herman and Pierre Shorette admitted Paul likely wouldn’t have accepted if he’d known the full scope of work required.
How successful was Dispatch?
Dispatch reached 2 million players by late November 2025 and became a viral hit among streamers and content creators. The episodic adventure game exceeded expectations for a debut title from a small indie studio working in a supposedly dead genre.
Who developed Dispatch?
AdHoc Studio, founded by ex-Telltale Games developers including Nick Herman, Dennis Lenart, Pierre Shorette, and others. The team specialized in narrative adventure games and worked on titles like The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, and Batman: The Telltale Series.
Is Dispatch getting a second season?
AdHoc hasn’t officially announced Season 2, but the game’s success makes additional content likely. Aaron Paul has expressed interest in returning to the role, and developers have hinted at potential continuation of Robert’s story.
What platforms is Dispatch available on?
Dispatch launched on PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam in October-November 2025. The game released on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 on January 28, 2026, expanding availability to portable platforms.
How long is Dispatch?
The complete game consists of eight episodes released weekly, totaling approximately 8-10 hours depending on player choices and exploration. Each episode runs roughly 60-90 minutes, similar to a television show episode length.
The Happy Ending
Despite the chaos, confusion, and near-constant terror that Aaron Paul would never forgive them, AdHoc Studio delivered something special. Dispatch proved that small teams with strong creative vision can compete with AAA productions when they play to their strengths. The game’s success validated years of struggle, rejection, and financial uncertainty.
As for Aaron Paul? He may have been confused and exhausted during recording, but the final product won him over. The actor saw players connecting with Robert’s story across the globe, watched streamers react to pivotal moments, and experienced his performance bringing a character to life in ways television never could.
Will Paul work with AdHoc again? The developers hope so, but they’ve learned their lesson. Next time, they’ll be upfront about exactly what voice acting a branching narrative entails. No more surprises, no more confusion, just honest collaboration between filmmakers and game developers creating something neither medium could achieve alone.
And honestly? That honesty might be exactly why Paul would say yes again. The actor respects authenticity, whether in scripts or relationships. AdHoc’s willingness to admit they undersold the role shows the kind of integrity that builds lasting partnerships. If there’s a Dispatch Season 2, expect Aaron Paul to return. But also expect him to negotiate for way more studio time upfront.