If you’ve been playing Dispatch, the episodic superhero workplace comedy from AdHoc Studio, you know exactly how episode 6 ended. The tension with Shroud has been building all season, and tomorrow’s double-episode finale promises to finally deliver the confrontation players have been waiting for. Episodes 7 and 8, titled Retrospective and Synergy respectively, launch November 12 at 9am Pacific Time, wrapping up a season that sold over 1 million copies in its first 10 days.
For those who haven’t jumped in yet, Dispatch is what happens when the creative leads behind Tales from the Borderlands and The Wolf Among Us team up with an all-star cast including Aaron Paul, Laura Bailey, Jeffrey Wright, and even content creators like Jacksepticeye and MoistCr1TiKaL. You play as Robert Robertson III, formerly the superhero Mecha Man, who now works as a dispatcher managing a dysfunctional team of villains-turned-heroes after his signature mecha suit gets destroyed. It’s part strategy game, part narrative adventure, and entirely driven by choices that actually matter.
What We Know About the Finale
The official teaser trailer dropped November 9, and it’s pulling no punches about what’s coming. Tensions have reached a breaking point after the events of episode 6. The team is overrun. Heroes are being dispatched to situations across the city. And Shroud, the main antagonist who’s been predicting the team’s moves all season, is finally making his endgame clear.
One character in the trailer says they don’t deserve anyone’s forgiveness, hinting at revelations or betrayals that complicate the team dynamics even further. Another line mentions wanting someone out, suggesting internal conflicts might be just as dangerous as external threats. This is what Shroud does, a character warns. He’s predicting our moves.
The mention of Mega Man, presumably referring to Robert’s superhero alter ego Mecha Man, suggests we might finally see him return to action. For six episodes, players have managed the team from behind a desk, making strategic decisions about which heroes to send where. The finale appears ready to change that dynamic in significant ways.
The Episodic Release Strategy
Dispatch launched October 22 with episodes 1 and 2 releasing simultaneously. Since then, AdHoc Studio has delivered new episodes in pairs every Wednesday, creating a weekly release schedule that mimics television more than traditional gaming. Episodes 3 and 4 arrived October 29. Episodes 5 and 6 dropped November 5. Now the season concludes with episodes 7 and 8 on November 12.
This release strategy is bold for 2025, especially coming from a studio largely composed of ex-Telltale Games developers who remember what killed that company the first time around. Episodic gaming has a complicated history. When Telltale pioneered the format with The Walking Dead in 2012, it felt revolutionary. By 2018, the model had become unsustainable and the studio collapsed.
What makes Dispatch different is the compressed timeline. Instead of spreading eight episodes across six months or a year with unpredictable delays, AdHoc committed to delivering everything within three weeks. That removes the biggest frustration with episodic content, waiting months between installments and losing narrative momentum. By the time episode 8 releases, only 21 days will have passed since launch. Players can stay engaged with the story without long gaps killing their investment.
Critical and Commercial Success
The 1 million sales figure in 10 days is genuinely impressive for a new IP from a relatively unknown studio. Yes, AdHoc is composed of Telltale veterans, but this is their first major release as an independent entity. They’re competing against massive franchises with established fanbases and marketing budgets that dwarf whatever resources AdHoc could muster.
Reviews have been largely positive, with critics praising the writing, voice acting, and strategic gameplay that makes you genuinely think about which heroes to send to which emergencies. The superhero workplace comedy angle gives the game a distinct identity. This isn’t another dark, gritty take on superhero fiction. It’s about managing office politics, balancing personal relationships, and dealing with the mundane bureaucracy that would realistically exist in a world with superpowered crime fighters.
The cast carries significant weight. Aaron Paul brings name recognition from Breaking Bad and Bojack Horseman. Laura Bailey is one of the most respected voice actors in gaming. Travis Willingham and Matthew Mercer from Critical Role add nerd credibility. Including content creators like Jacksepticeye and MoistCr1TiKaL was a smart marketing move that exposed the game to massive online audiences.
The Gameplay That Makes It Work
Dispatch isn’t just a choose-your-own-adventure game with superhero dressing. The Superhero Dispatch Network map requires genuine strategic thinking. Each hero has specific stats and character traits. Emergencies around the city demand different approaches. Send the wrong hero to the wrong situation and things go badly. Send multiple heroes to one emergency and you leave other parts of the city vulnerable.
Heroes also have cooldowns after missions, forcing you to rotate your roster rather than relying on the same few favorites. This creates interesting dilemmas where your best option for a situation might be unavailable, requiring creative problem-solving with whoever’s ready to deploy.
The hacking mini-game adds variety, requiring quick navigation through pathways and quick-time events. It’s not the most innovative mini-game ever designed, but it breaks up the dialogue and map management with something more mechanically demanding.
All of this ties into dialogue trees that shape the narrative. Your conversation choices affect relationships with team members, influence how situations unfold, and ultimately determine which version of events you experience. It’s the Telltale formula refined by developers who learned from past successes and failures.
What Happens After Episode 8
The big question on everyone’s mind is whether there will be a season 2. PushSquare reported that AdHoc Studio is only just starting to think about it, which is refreshingly honest considering the game launched less than a month ago. Most developers would hedge their bets with vague statements about wanting to continue the story. AdHoc is being transparent that they’re focused on delivering the current season before committing to anything else.
That said, selling over 1 million copies in 10 days creates strong business incentives for additional content. Whether that manifests as a full season 2, DLC episodes, or a completely different project depends on factors beyond just sales numbers. The team’s capacity, publisher interest, and creative vision all play roles in what comes next.
For now, the focus is tomorrow’s finale. Seven episodes have built toward this conclusion. Shroud has been orchestrating events from the shadows. The team is fractured and overwhelmed. Robert’s journey from disgraced former hero to maybe-hero-again is reaching its climax. Players who’ve invested three weeks into this story deserve an ending that pays off that investment.
How to Catch Up Before Tomorrow
If you haven’t started Dispatch yet but want to experience the finale with everyone else, you have just under 24 hours to play six episodes. That’s tight but doable if you commit. Each episode runs roughly 60-90 minutes depending on how much you explore and how quickly you make decisions. Six episodes means maybe 9 hours of content if you’re efficient.
The game is available on PlayStation 5 and PC through Steam. There’s no Xbox version announced, which is unusual for a 2025 release but reflects AdHoc’s targeted platform strategy. The PC version performs well on mid-range hardware, so you don’t need a cutting-edge rig to run it smoothly.
Release Times by Region
Episodes 7 and 8 launch November 12 at 9am Pacific Time, which translates to noon Eastern Time, 5pm in the UK, 6pm in Central Europe, and 2am on November 13 in Japan. For players in Australia, you’re looking at 3am on the east coast or 1am on the west coast. New Zealand gets it at 6am on November 13.
That Wednesday morning Pacific launch means most of North America and Europe can jump in during normal waking hours. Asian and Oceanic players get the short end of the stick with middle-of-the-night releases, but at least it’s available globally at the same time rather than staggered rollouts.
FAQs
When do Dispatch episodes 7 and 8 release?
Episodes 7 and 8 launch November 12, 2025 at 9am Pacific Time, noon Eastern Time, 5pm UK time, and 6pm Central European time. The episodes release simultaneously worldwide.
What are the titles of the final episodes?
Episode 7 is titled Retrospective and Episode 8 is titled Synergy. Both episodes focus on the final confrontation with the antagonist Shroud and resolving the season’s storylines.
Will there be a Dispatch season 2?
AdHoc Studio has stated they’re only just starting to think about season 2. The game’s success with over 1 million sales in 10 days makes additional content likely, but nothing has been officially announced.
What platforms is Dispatch available on?
Dispatch is available on PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam. There is no Xbox or Nintendo Switch version currently announced.
How many episodes are in Dispatch season 1?
Season 1 consists of eight episodes total, released in pairs over three weeks from October 22 through November 12, 2025.
Who voices the characters in Dispatch?
The cast includes Aaron Paul, Laura Bailey, Jeffrey Wright, Travis Willingham, Matthew Mercer, Erin Yvette, and content creators Jacksepticeye, MoistCr1TiKaL, Joel Haver, and Alanah Pearce.
Do I need to play earlier episodes to understand the finale?
Yes, Dispatch is a continuous narrative where choices carry forward across episodes. Starting with episodes 7 and 8 would leave you confused about characters, relationships, and story developments.
Conclusion
Tomorrow’s Dispatch finale represents a milestone for episodic gaming done right. By compressing the release schedule into three weeks instead of stretching across months, AdHoc Studio kept players engaged while avoiding the pitfalls that destroyed Telltale Games. The million-plus sales demonstrate that audiences still want narrative-driven adventures with meaningful choices, especially when executed by developers who understand the format intimately.
Whether episodes 7 and 8 stick the landing remains to be seen. The buildup has been solid, the cast has delivered memorable performances, and the strategic gameplay provides depth beyond just clicking through dialogue. But finales are hard. They need to resolve storylines satisfyingly while leaving room for potential continuation. They must deliver payoff for player choices without making people feel like their decisions didn’t matter.
If you’ve been playing since October 22, mark your calendar for tomorrow morning. The conclusion to Robert Robertson III’s journey from washed-up former hero to maybe-hero-again arrives in less than 24 hours. And if Dispatch taught us anything over six episodes, it’s that managing a dysfunctional superhero team is way more complicated than just saving the city. Sometimes the real villains are office politics, personal relationships, and the bureaucratic nightmares that exist even in worlds with superpowers.